CH 



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Book_ID.£5_ 
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



TWENTIETH CENTURY TEXT-BOOKS 

GENERAL EDITOR 

A. F. NIGHTINGALE, Ph.D., LL. D. 

FORMERLY SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGH SCHOOLS, CHICAGO 



DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES 

French — Edited by Henry A. Todd, Ph. D. 

Columbia University 
German — Edited by Horatio S. White, LL. D. 

Harvard University 
Spanish — Edited by William F. Giese, A. M. 

University of Wisconsin 



TWENTIETH CENTURY TEXT-BOOKS 



A FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



BY 

CHARLES ALFRED DOWNER, Ph. D. 

ASSISTANT TROFESSOR OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 
IN THE COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 





» „ ) . *> -> <. > « ■ 



NEW YORK 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1902 



TO 1 " 



THFT.nSRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Rbcwvw 

AUG. 9 190? 

Copyright nrmv 

XX«l No. 

h % i±& 

COPY B. 



nCOPVRlGHT B 

CLASS «• X) 



Copyright, 1902 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



Published Augusts 19Q2 



PEEFACE 



This First French Book is not intended to fill the place 
of a reference grammar of .the French language. The aim 
in its preparation has been to offer a work so thorough, 
however, as to lay an adequate foundation for further study. 
The chief idea of the author has been to lead the learner 
to conscious knowledge, to develop; his faculty of deriving 
principles for himself. * The habit "of seeking out and ex- 
plaining differences, and" noting resemblances, between the 
foreign and the native idibm~is of the utmost value, not 
only in training the judgment, but also in practically ac- 
quiring the language. Throughout this book these differ- 
ences, in particular, are constantly dwelt upon, and va- 
rious devices are employed to call attention to them in a 
striking manner. For this reason examples precede in every 
case the formulation of a rule. The learner, moreover, is 
constantly put on his guard against the stereotyped errors 
to which speakers of English are prone when attempting 
to express themselves in French. This comparative method 
is applied in all parts of the book, as well in the treatment 
of pronunciation as in inflection and syntax. 

The French exercises consist usually of groups of sen- 
tences offering connected sense. The pupil is encouraged 
from the outset to learn to infer the meanings of words from 
the context, and to look them up rather as a confirmation 
or correction of, than as a substitution for, his own ingenu- 
ity. Hence the special vocabularies follow the exercises, 
as do also the notes that explain minor points. 

The number of words used is unusually large for such 



VI FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

a book, but experience shows that mere vocabulary is rarely 
a difficulty, and the learner has the satisfaction of feeling 
that he is constantly acquiring words. The language used 
is actual spoken and written French. Eare or very peculiar 
idioms are avoided, but the learner is gradually led to ac- 
quire a sense of idiom. 

The French exercises are adapted to dictation, and this 
form of instruction, which is of value in teaching any for- 
eign tongue, is of the very greatest service in teaching 
French, because, in the case of this language, the written 
forms offer so many grammatical distinctions not apparent 
in the spoken words. 

It is impossible to write a paragraph at dictation in 
French without grasping the meaning. The author be- 
lieves it of supreme importance that the spoken and the 
written form should be inseparably linked in the mind of 
the learner, so that the one instantly suggests the other. 
This consideration has determined the omission of any sys- 
tem of phonetic spelling. Abundant dictation will achieve 
this association of sound and written form very rapidly. 

A special endeavor has been made to present the matter 
of pronunciation systematically and adequately. Although 
placed at the beginning of the book, the portion treating 
of pronunciation can best be used after a start has been 
made in Part II. It is hoped that the remarks and exer- 
cises beginning on page 25 will be of good service, and that 
the arrangement throughout Part I is so clear that any 
detail can be readily found. 

The mode of treating conjugation which is here adopted 
has been found decidedly successful in actual practise, and 
the labor of mastering the irregular verbs is thereby reduced 
to a minimum. 

The author is deeply indebted to his friend, Professor 
Henry A. Todd, of Columbia University, and to Dr. A. F. 
Nightingale, of Chicago, for many wise suggestions and 
much kindness in the preparation of the work. 



CONTENTS 



PAET I 

LESSON PAGE 

The Alphabet and the Sounds of the French Lan- 
guage 1 

Division of Words into Syllables .... 20 

French Pronunciation . 25 

Exercises in Pronunciation 27 

PART II 

I. The Articles 30 

II. Nouns 32 

III. Present Indicative of Etre 34 

IV. Exercise for Review 36 

V. Prepositions 37 

VI. Adjectives 39 

VII. Exercise for Review . .42 

VIII. Auxiliary Verbs 43 

IX. Auxiliary Verbs {continued) 46 

X. The Generic Article 48 

XI. Verbs 52 

XII. Possessive Adjectives 56 

XIII. Exercise for Review 58 

XIV. The Partitive and Definite Articles .... 60 
XV. Possessive Pronouns 63 

XVI. Exercise for Review 66 

XVII. Demonstrative Pronouns .67 

XVIII. Exercise for Review 70 

vii 



Vlll FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

LESSON PAGE 

XIX. Auxiliary Verbs 71 

XX. Plurals 75 

XXI. Exercise for Review 79 

XXII. Comparative Form of Adjectives .... 80 

XXIII. Adjectives 83 

XXIV. Adjectives {continued) 87 

XXV. Adverbs 91 

XXVI. Imperfect Indicative of the Three Conjugations . 95 

XXVII. Interrogative Adjectives 99 

XXVIII. Past Definite of the Three Conjugations . . 102 

XXIX. Negatives 105 

XXX. Past Definite of the Auxiliary Verbs . . . 108 

XXXI. Exercise for Review 112 

XXXII. Present Indicative of Regular Verbs ending in er 113 

XXXIII. The Cardinal Numbers 117 

XXXIV. The Cardinal Numbers {continued) . . . .122 
XXXV. The Ordinal Numbers and Fractions . . . 127 

XXXVI. The Future Indicative of the Three Conju- 
gations 132 

XXXVII. Future Tense of the Auxiliary Verbs . . . 136 
XXXVIII. Present Indicative of Irregular Verbs ending 

in oir 140 

XXXIX. Present Conditional of the Three Conjugations . 145 

XL. The Past Participle 151 

XLI. Personal Pronouns 155 

XLII. Regular Verbs ending in ir 159 

XLIII. Imperative of Auxiliary Verbs .... 163 

XLIV. The Definite Article 168 

XLV. The Pronoun En .172 

XLVI. Subjunctive Present of the Three Conjugations . 176 
XLVII. Adverbs and Adverbtal Pronouns . . . .180 
XLVIII. Subjunctive Imperfect of the Three Conjuga- 
tions 184 

XLIX. Formation of the French Verb .... 189 

L. Regular Verbs ending in er 192 



CONTENTS IX 

LESSON PAGE 

LI. Tense . . ' f 197 

LII. Relative Pronouns 201 

LIII. The Passive Verb 206 

LIV. Forms op the Pronoun Lequel 210 

LV. The Interrogative Qui 215 

LYI. Interrogatives 220 

LVH. Reflexive Verbs 225 

LVIII. Reflexive Verbs (continued) 230 

LIX. Compound Personal Pronouns 234 

LX. The Present Participle 238 

LXI. The Verb Faire (to make, to do, to cause) . . 243 

■ LXII. Regular Verbs ending in ir 248 

LXIII. The Subjunctive 253 

LXIV. The Impersonal Verb 257 

LXV. The Impersonal Verb (continued) .... 261 

LXVI. Resume of Verbs requiring the Subjunctive . . 266 

LXVII. Relative Clauses 270 

LXVIII. Prepositions 275 

LXIX. Verbs ending in aitre . 279 

LXX. The Infinitive 284 

LXXI. Verbs of Feeling, Hearing, and Seeing . . . 289 

LXXII. Se taire, Plaire, and Obeir . . ... . . 294 

LXXIIL Devoir and Fallow 298 

LXXIV. Pouvoir (to be able) 303 

LXXV. Savoir (to know how) . 309 



THE NEW EULES OF FEENCH SYNTAX 



In February, 1901, the Minister of Public Instruction in France 
promulgated certain modifications in the rules of French spelling and 
syntax, made with the approval of the French Academy. Generally 
speaking these changes are not of very great importance to the foreign 
student, for they affect minor rules only. The principal feature of 
them is, that certain mistakes shall not be counted against candidates 
undergoing examinations depending upon the Minister of Public In- 
struction. 

The following points should be noted by the learner of French : 

Hereafter the hyphen may everywhere be suppressed, in compound 
words of all kinds, and in the interrogative forms of verbs. 

The apostrophe may be omitted in such compound verbs as en- 
tr'ouvrir. 

The partitive article, du, de la, de l\ des, will be allowed before an 
adjective instead of the preposition de. 

The plural of vingt and of cent will be allowed even before another 
numeral. 

The present subjunctive may follow the conditional instead of the 
imperfect subjunctive. 

The particle ne may be suppressed with the subjunctive required 
after empecher, craindre, douter, nier, it ne tient pas, and their syno- 
nyms (Lesson LXVI) ; it may likewise be omitted after the conjunc- 
tions a moins que, avant que, de crainte que, de peur que, and it may 
also be left out before the indicative mode in the second term of a com- 
parison (Lesson XXXII). 

It will be seen that these rules are not so much a positive change as 
a mere toleration of venial mistakes. The language will doubtless 
continue to be written as at present for a long time to come. 

The other modifications advised by the Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion are few in number, and of interest only to advanced students.* 
x 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



PAKT I 

THE ALPHABET AND THE SOUNDS OF THE 
FRENCH LANGUAGE 

1 The French language is written and printed with the same 
letters as the English language. 

K and W are found only in words borrowed from other languages. 

2 The French names of the letters are as follows : 



A a 


a 


N n 


enne 


B b 


be 


o 





C c 


ce 


Pp 


pe 


D d 


de 


Qq 


cu 


E e 


e 


E r 


erre 


F f 


effe 


S s 


esse 


G g 


ge 


T t 


te 


H h 


ache 


U u 


u 


I i 


i 


V v 


ve 


Jj 


ji 


W w 


double ve 


K k 


ka 


X x 


iks 


L 1 


elle 


Yy 


i grec 


M m 


emme 


Z z 


zede 



No attempt is made to spell these names in English fashion. Such 
attempts are always misleading. It is not important to learn these 
names until later. 

1 



2 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3 The French language employs three accent-marks over its 
vowels. They are : 

( ' ) the acute accent, l'accent aigu ; 

( v ) the grave accent, l'accent grave ; 

(^) the circumflex accent, l'accent circonflexe. 

4 The acute accent is used only over the vowel e. 

5 The grave accent is used over a, e, and u. Only in the case 
of e is the sound affected by this accent. 

6 The circumflex accent is found with all the vowels. These 
vowels are then usually pronounced long. 

7 The accents do not indicate stress. 

8 Other marks used in French are : 

1. The cedilla, la ceMille, placed under c to show that it sounds 
like a hissing s. It is used when c has this sound before a, o, or u. 
Examples : fagade, legon, congu. 

2. The apostrophe, l'apostrophe, indicating the omission of a 
vowel. 

3. The dieresis, le trema, indicating that the vowel over which 
it is plaeed is pronounced separately from the preceding. Examples : 
Saul, Mo'ise, naif. 

4. The hyphen, le trait d'union, connects words, syllables, and 
the parts of many compound words. 

9 A, a. 1. This vowel represents one of two sounds. 

2. The first is the sound in madame. 

(It is nearer the sound of a in the English am, at, than in far. 
Be careful not to prolong it or drawl it.) 

3. This sound is by far its most frequent sound. 
Examples : mal, patte, lac, garde. 

(Avoid the tendency to change this sound before an r, as is usual in 
English.) 

4. The other sound is heard in lache. 

(It is nearer to the a of father than to any other English vowel.) 
Examples : grace, pas, base, passe. 

It has this sound usually before a final s, often before sse final, 
in the common terminations -ation, -asion, -assion, and generally when 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 3 

bearing the circumflex accent. It is generally long when it has this 
sound. 

5. A is silent in aoiit, curacao, Saone, taon. 

10 E, e. 1. This letter, unmarked by any accent and termi- 
nating a syllable, is called e mute. (In French, e muet.) 

See § 65. 

The name is unfortunate ; sometimes the letter is silent, some- 
times not. 

Examples : ce, de, le, me, ne, que, se, te, jeta, retard, devenir, menu, 
table, rive, faire, terre, pate. 

2. Its sound is somewhat like the vowel in bun or in 
burn. It is made with a closer rounding of the lips than 
the English vowels just mentioned. 

3. This letter is also e mute before a final s and in the 
termination ent of the third person plural of verbs. 

Examples : je porte, tu portes, its portent. 

Exceptions : the monosyllables ces, des, les, mes, ses, tes, which are 
pronounced with the sound e. (But usually, when not emphasized, e.) 

4. In ordinary rapid speech the e mute becomes silent (even when 
it is the only vowel in the word), if no difficult combination of conso- 
nants results from its omission ; in oratorical or emphatic utterance it 
may always have its full sound. 

5. In the early stages of study the student will do best to pronounce 
this vowel, and learn to pass over it as he acquires the ability to read 
or speak faster. 

6. The e after a vowel within a word is completely silent. 

Examples : devouement, allaient, feerique, il nettoiera, nous 
jouerons. 

The e before a vowel is completely silent. 
Examples: Jean, geai, jugea, geole, voire ami. 

7. The final e of all words is practically silent in ordi- 
nary speech. If a consonant precedes, this consonant is 
sounded very forcibly as compared with usual English 
utterance. 

Examples: vie,joue, armee, grande, petite, homme. 



4 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

8. The e in the first syllable of the following words, al- 
though before a doubled consonant, is the e mute. 

a. dessus, dessous, and their compounds ; 

~b. Words beginning "with ress, as ressaisir, ressenibler, ressentir, 
ressource. 

Note. — The s is doubled in order that it may not be sounded as z, 
as it regularly is between vowels. 

9. E sounds like the French a, § 9, 2, before the mm in 
femme and in all adverbs in -emment. It has the same sound 
before nn in solennel and in kindred words. 

Examples: evidemment, solennite. 

11 E, e\ 1. The e surmounted by the acute accent always 
has the same sound. It is usually called e close, e ferme\ 
(The nearest English equivalent is the a of gate. Be care- 
ful not to make a diphthong of the vowel, and especially 
do not prolong it.) 

Examples : repete, cede, general. 

Exception : before a consonant followed by final e mate, as in 
porte-je, dusse-je. Ilere the sound is that of e, and the method of indi- 
cating the sound is anomalous. 

2. The same sound is represented by -er final when the 
r is silent. 

Examples : danser, boucher, dernier. 

3. It is represented again by final -ied or -ieds. 
Examples : pied, fassieds. 

4. It is also represented by the ending -ez when the z is 
silent. 

Examples : vous avez, cliez, le nez. 

5. The word et is pronounced 6. The t is always 
silent. 

6. The e before ff, sc, ss. is pronounced e when an e mute does 
not follow these consonants. 

Examples : dessecher, dessin, effacer, essenticl, descendre. But in 
words ending in -ession the e is sounded e. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 5 

7. The e in Latin words, or words borrowed from Italian, Spanish, 
and German, sounds e at the end of a syllable. 

Examples : alleluia, Credo, Montevideo, Weber. 

8. The e is never found separated by a consonant or consonants 
from a final e mute. In this position we always find e. (Exception, 
§ 11, 1, above.) 

Examples : pere, celebre, Therese. 

12 E, b. 1. This letter represents the vowel sound in the 
English word get or pared. (It is usually called the open e, 
e ouvert.) 

Examples: pere, algebre, celebre, fachete. 

2. The unaccented e not ending a syllable is usually 
pronounced 6. 

Examples : set, terre, paresse, nette, respect, amer. 

3. It has the same sound before x, and before s -f- conso- 
nant. 

Examples : annexe, sexe, esprit, description. 

4. It has the same sound before il and ille. 
Examples : soleil, veille, corbeille. 

5. E is never written as a final vowel. 

13 E, e. The sound is that of fc, but longer. 

Examples : bete, fete, meme. 

(Be careful not to pronounce e or ei in lengthening this vowel.) 

14 I, i. 1. The sound is that of i in machine. 

(It never sounds as in mill.) 

2. It is silent in oignon and in encoignure. 

15 0, o. 1. This vowel is sometimes sounded close, as in rose ; 
sometimes open, as in folle. 

(The nearest English equivalent of the close sound is the o in rose, 
low, pole. Be careful not to make a u sound after it. 

The open sound is not found in English. It is somewhat like the 
o in not, but nearing the ou in nought.) 

2. It is usually close when marked with the circumflex 
accent. 

Examples : role, Vendome, hote. 



b FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. It is close when it is the last sound in the word. 
Examples : abricot, escroc, echo, gros, strop, trop. 

Exception : When not at the end of a clause or sentence, trop is 
pronounced with the open sound. 

4. It is close before final -se, and often before a single c 
between vowels. 

Examples : chose, suppose, arroser, generosite. 

5. It is close in many words in -ome. 

Examples : atome, axiome, idiome. 

Important exceptions are: astronome, econome, Borne. (Open 
sound.) 

6. It is close in words ending in -otion. 

Examples : devotion, emotion. 

7. It is close before ss in many words. 
Examples : dossier, fosse, grosse, grossier. 

8. Except in the above cases, it is generally open. 

9. It is silent in paon, faon, which are pronounced as 
though spelled pan, fan. 

16 U, u. 1. The sound of this vowel is not found in English. 

2. When the student fails to make it by imitation, he 
can generally produce it mechanically by pronouncing oo 
(as in pool), and then, with the lips fixed as for that sound, 
attempting to utter ee (as in peel). 

Examples : tu, cru, juste. 

3. XI is usually silent after q and g. 

Examples : qui, qualite, fatigue, gui. 

The list of exceptions is very long, but the words wherein the u 
sounds after the q are generally learned, scientific, or foreign words. 

17 Y, y. 1. When not combined with another vowel, its sound 
is that of French i. 

Examples: jury, crypte. 

2. Preceding a vowel, it is sounded like the y in year. 

Examples : les yeux, le yacht (ht silent). 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 7 

Sounds of Vowel Combinations 

18 Ai. 1. Terminating a verb, ai sounds like 6. 

Examples : fai, je finirai, je portai. 

2. It sounds like e* in gai, geai, quai, je sais, tu sais, il 
sait. 

3. Elsewhere ai sounds like e. (But see § 52, 2.) 

Examples : anglais, chair, lait, il parlait, la oaie, que faie, halai, 
fraiche, maison. 

19 Au. 1. Au usually has the sound of the close o. See § 15. 

Examples : au, audace, autre, saut. 

2. Au sounds like the open o in words ending in aure 
or aur, and in the verb restaurer and its derivatives. 

Examples : Minotaure, Maure, restaurant. 

3. Au is pronounced like open o in the future and con- 
ditional of avoir and savoir. 

Examples : faurai, il saurait. 

4. Au is open in Paul. 

5. Eau is equal to au. 

20 Ay. 1. Ay sounds like e, unless a vowel follows. 

Example: Douay. 

2. "When a vowel follows, ay becomes equal to ai-i. Payer 
is therefore pronounced pai-ier, as though written pe-yer. 

Examples : essay ant, nous payons. 

3. Pays, paysan, are pronounced as though written peis, 
peisan. 

4. Aye in proper names equals e. 
Example : La Haye, the Hague. 

5. The a of ay keeps its proper sound in many words, 
generally foreign, and in proper names. 

Examples : Bayard, Bayonne, Lafayette, Mayence. 

21 Ei. 1. Ei is always like e. 

Examples : peine, Seine, neige. 



8 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

22 Eu. 1. Eu represents one of two simple vowel sounds : the 
first is heard in pen, the second in peur. 

2. Neither of these sounds exists in English, although 
the sound in peur approaches that in parr. The French 
vowel is made with the lips more closely rounded than the 
English vowel. 

3. Eu in peu is the close sound, eu in peur is the open sound. 

4. The close sound is heard when it is a final vowel 
sound or an initial vowel sound. 

Examples: je veux, cheveu, lieu, Europe, heureux. 

5. The open sound is heard before a final pronounced 
consonant. 

Examples: fleur, seul, neuf. 

6. The open sound is heard in the endings -euble, -eugle, 
-eule, -eune, -euple, -eure, -euve. 

Examples: le meuble, aveugles, Us veulent, jeune, le peuple, Us peu- 
vent. 

Bat eu is close. Examples : jeune, jeutier. 

7. The word gageure is to be noted. It is pronounced as though 
written gajure. The e after the g merely marks the sound of the g. 

8. Eu in all the forms of the verb avoir sounds u (§16). 

23 Ey. Ey is treated like ay. 

24 la, ie, ie, io, iou, ieu, etc. 

I before a vowel becomes a semivowel like the y of yes, 
year. 

[The cases where it is separated from the following vowel, so as to 
constitute a separate syllable, are recorded in any full treatment of 
French versification. This distinction may be neglected here.] 

25 Oe. 1. In moelle, moelleux, moellon, oe sounds like oi in 
moi. See the next section on oi. 

2. In poele, oe sounds like oi. See the section on oi. 

3. (E sounds like open eu (see § 22) in ceil and its de- 
rivatives. 

4. (Eu follows the rules of eu. See § 22. 
Examples: voeu, sceur. 

5. Xote that (E, oe, are written together in the last two cases. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 9 

6. (E in words borrowed from Greek and Latin sounds 
like 6. 

Example: oesophage. 
28 Oi. 1. This combination sounds like the iva in the English 
word waft. 

Examples : bois, froid. 

Note. — Orthoepists distinguish two sounds of oi: one open, one 
close. The distinction may be neglected by the student. 

27 Ou. 1. Ou has but one sound — that of oo in the English pool. 

Examples : fou, poule, trou, genou, ourdir. 

28 Oy. 1. Oy is equivalent to oi. If a vowel follows, the y 
counts twice. It combines with the o to produce the sound 
oi (§26), and then is sounded like y before the following 
vowel. 

Examples: aboyer, nettoyons.je croyais. 

29 Ua, u6, ufc, ui, uo. 1. After q and g, u is generally silent. 

Examples: guarder, guerre, qui, quand, quete. 

2. There are a great many exceptions. A few important 
ones are here selected : 

a. The u sounds (with its French sound, but very briefly, being 
equivalent to a semi-vowel or consonant) in 

aiguille and its derivatives, 
aiguiser and its derivatives, 
linguiste, 
jaguar. 

b. Gua at the beginning of Spanish and Italian words sounds as 
though written Goua (English gica). 

Examples: Guadalquivir, Guatemala. 

c. Qu sounds as in English aquatic in many words. A few are 
given : 

aquarelle, aquatique, equateur, equation, 

loquace, quadragenaire, quadrangle, quadrupede. 

quadruple, quarto, quartz, aquarium. 

d. In the following words the u has its French sound (see § 29, 2, a) : 
equestre, equilateral, equitation, quintette, quintuple, ubiquite. 



10 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. Uy equals ui-y in words where a vowel follows. 
Examples : appuyer, essuyons, ennuyeux. 

4. Ue before the 1 mouill6e (see § 52) sounds like the 
open eu. 

Examples : accueil, orgueil, cueillir. 

5. Gue and que final are mute syllables ; the u is here 
silent. 

Examples: fatigue, unique. 

But when written ue, the u has its normal sound. 

Examples: il argue, he argues; aigue, feminine of aigu. 

The Nasal Vowels 

30 The French language has four nasal vowels. They are 
heard in the words an, vin, on, un. 

31 These four sounds do not exist in English, and must be 
learned through the ear. Descriptions generally lead the 
learner to utter sounds like the English rang, wrong, which 
are altogether erroneous. This ng sound is unknown to 
French. 

The first of the above sounds may be described as a ut- 
tered nasally, the second as e very open uttered nasally, the 
third as o (a little closer than open o) uttered nasally, and 
un as the open sound of eu, uttered nasally. 

32 1. A vowel is nasal when the morn following is in the same 
syllable. (See § 65.) 

Examples: grand, fin, long, main, parfum. 
But see § 39. 

2. Hence the vowel in the following words is not nasal : 
Examples : graine, fine, fini, parfumer. 

3. Before mm, nn, and mn there is no nasality. 
Examples : nommer, automne (m silent), innocent. 
But see S 33. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 11 

33 The sound an is expressed by am, an, em, en. 

Examples : plan, camp, temps, en, cent. 

1. Em generally keeps this sound when it is a prefix before m, 
as in emmener. 

En as a prefix keeps this sound in many words. Examples are 
ennui, ennoblir, enhardir, enivrer. See Dictionary. 

34 1. The sound in is expressed by aim, ain, eim, ein, em, en, 
im, in, ym, yn. 

Examples : faim, main, Reims, ceint, importe, injuste, sympathie, 
syntaxe. 

2. En final usually has this sound. 
Examples : Men, Italien, examen. 

3. Em, en, have this sound in a long list of words of 
foreign origin. 

4. Ien in various parts of the verbs venir, tenir, offers 
the same sound. 

35 The sound on is also expressed by om. 

Examples : Von, plomb, son, legon, comte, prompt. 

36 The sound un is also expressed by um and enn. 

Examples : un, lundi, parfum, a jeun, humble. 

37 Oin, onin. The sound of in is here preceded by the w sound. 

Examples : loin, moins, baragouin. 

38 TJin. The sound of French u here precedes the nasal vowel. 

Example : juin. 

39 1. M and n in a great many words do not nasalize the pre- 
ceding vowel. These are generally proper nouns or foreign 
words. 

Examples are : Amsterdam, Abraham, gentleman (here the final n 
sounds), amen, Jerusalem. 

2. Final um frequently sounds as om, the m being pro- 
nounced. (This occurs chiefly in Latin words.) 

Examples : album, maximum. 



12 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

The Consonants 

40 1. Final consonants are usually silent. 

Examples : grand, plomb, nez, sot, pres, m'ets, paix. 

2. But c, f, 1, r, are more usually sounded than silent. 
Examples : sec, vif, mal, fer, four. 

41 B. 1. Sounds as in English. 

2. Final b is sounded in a few words (generally foreign). 
Examples : baobab, club, nabab. 

3. B sounds like p before s. 

Examples : absoudre, absurde. 

42 C. 1. C sounds like k before a, o, u. 

2. C sounds like k before consonants. 

3. C sounds like k when pronounced at the end of a 
word. 

Examples : cas, cote, curieux, cle, accuse, avec. 

4. C has the hissing sound of s before e, i, y. 

5. C has the hissing sound of s when it has the cedilla. 

Examples: ce, id, Cyrus, regu, legon, plaga. 

6. C has the sound of g in go in second and all its de- 
rivatives. 

7. Final c is silent in estomac, tabac, eric, accroc, escroc, 
lroc, clerc, Saint-Marc (of Venice), ?narc, pore, franc> banc, 
Mane, flanc, j one, tronc, je vaincs, tu vaincs, il vainc. 

8. In instinct, the final ct is silent. 

43 Ch. 1. Ch is generally sounded as sh in shut. 

Examples : chat, acheter, chef, chute. 

2. Ch sounds like k in many words from the Greek and 
in other foreign words. 

Examples : chretien, chceur, echo, archeologie, orchestre. 

a. Exceptions are numerous. Ch is pronounced as in machine in 
the following, selected as important from a long list: Achille, arche- 
veque, architects architecture, chirurgien, hierarchie, monarchic, Michel, 
patriarche, psyche, Don Quichotte. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 13 

b. In Michel-Ange the ch sounds like k. 

c. The ch in all words beginning with archi sounds as in machine 
except in the two words archiepiscopal and archiepiscopat. 

Ch final is silent in almanach. 

44 D. 1. D sounds as in English. It is perhaps more dental, 
that is, the tongue comes well against the teeth. 

2. Final d is usually sounded in foreign names. 

3. Final d is sounded in sud. 

4. Final d is silent in Madrid, Gounod. 

5. Final d is silent in the ending -rd, but is pronounced 
in nord-est and nord-ouest. 

6. Final d is sounded in George Sand. 

45 F. 1. Final f is silent in clef, often written as pronounced, 
cle. 

2. F is silent in chef-d'oeuvre and in cerf-volant. 

3. F is sounded in the singulars bceuf, ceuf, nerf, but is 
silent in the plurals boeufs, ceufs, nerfs. 

4. F is silent in neuf, meaning nine, before a consonant 
or an aspirate h of a word it multiplies. 

Example : neuf livres, nine books. 

46 G. 1. G sounds as in go before a, o, u, or a consonant. 

Examples : gant, gond, gue, glas. 

2. G sounds like z in azure before e, i, y. 

Examples : genie, gigot, gymnase. 

Both sounds are heard in sugg6rer, suggestion. 

47 Gn. 1. Gn sounds much like ni in the English word anion. 

Examples : digne, agneau, gagner. In making this sound let the 
tongue touch the lower teeth. 

2. There is a long list of exceptions. They are chiefly 
learned words. The gn sounds here as in the English 
magnify. 

A few examples are chosen : diagnostique, ignition, stagnant, st 



tion. 



3. G is silent in Regnard (a comic poet) and signet. 

4. Final g sounds in joug. 



14 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

48 H. 1. The French distinguish between h mute and h 
aspirate (h muette, h aspir6e). 

2. Some Frenchmen pronounce the aspirate h, but it is 
generally silent. 

3. The aspirate h prevents elision and liaison. See § 68. 

4. For the words beginning with aspirate h, consult the 
Dictionary. 

49 J, 1. J has always the same sound — that of z in azure. 

Examples : je,jour, jamais. 

50 K. K has always the sound of k in hick. 

Example : kilometre. 

51 L. 1. L has two sounds, one as in low and the other like 
the y in year. This latter sound is called 1 mouill6e. 

2. L is silent in fusil, chenil, eul, cul-de-sac, sourcil, outil, 
soul, baril, pouls. 

3. L is silent in gentil, but sounds like y (1 mouill6e) 
when joined to the next word. See § 68. 

4. L is silent in fils, in names ending in -auld, -ault. 

52 L mouill6e has the sound of y in yearn. 

1. The 1 mouill6e is always preceded by i. It is oftenest 
expressed by ill, as in bataille. 

2. The il has this sound in the terminations 

-ail, -eil, -euil, -ieil, -ceil, -ouail, -ouil, -uail, -ueil. 
A before the 1 mouillee sounds like the a in madam e, 

though sometimes like the a in IdcJie. 
Ue in this position sounds like the open eu. 
Examples: ail, bail, corail, travail, co7iseil, soleil, sommeil, vieil 
fauteuil, seuil, accueil, orgueil, fenouil. 

3. The four words avril, babil, cil, and p6ril are pro- 
nounced either with the normal sound of 1 or with the 1 
mouillee. The former pronunciation tends to prevail. 

4. HI beginning a word is never mouill6e. 

5. Preceded by a vowel, ill usually sounds as y. 
Examples: bataille. vieille, brouillard, grenouille. 

Note. — The syllables of grenouille are gre-nou-ille ; the stress is 
upon nou. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 15 

6. LI preceded by i usually has the sound of 1 mouill6e. 

Examples: fille, artillerie, babiller, Bastille, billet, brillant, cedille, 
habiller, famille. 

Important exceptions to the above are the following, 
where the 1 has its normal sound : 

ville, Acliille, billion, million, Lille, mille, osciller, 
pusillanime, village, tranquille, tranquillite. 

7. Lh has the sound of 1 mouill6e in gentilhomme and in 
some proper names. In the plural, gentilshomm.es, the 1 is 
silent. 

53 M. 1. M is pronounced as in English. 

2. It is silent when it renders a preceding vowel nasal. 
See § 32. 

3. It is often pronounced when final. See § 39. 

4. It is silent in damner, condamner, and their deriva- 
tives, and in the word automne. 

54 N. 1. N is pronounced as in English. 

2. It is silent when it renders a preceding vowel nasal. 
See § 32. 

But in words where en is a prefix, the n often nasalizes 
the preceding vowel and has its normal sound as well. 
See § 33. 

Examples are enivrer, enorgueillir. 

3. N is silent in monsieur. 

4. N" final is sounded in many words of foreign origin 
without rendering the vowel nasal. 

Examples: dolmen, specimen. 

55 P. 1. P has the same sound as in English. 

2. It is not silent in psaume, psychologie, Ptolem6e, etc. 

3. It is silent in bapteme, baptiser, and others of the 
same family; in compte and its derivatives ; in temps, corps, 
exempt, exempter, prompt and its derivatives; in scnlpter 
and its derivatives ; in dompter and its derivatives. 



16 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. It is silent in sept, septieme, septiemement, dix-sept. 
It is sounded in other words beginning with sept. 

5. It is silent in all parts of the verb rompre and its 
compounds, when a consonant follows the p. 

6. Ph sounds like f. 

56 Q. 1. Q, sounds as k. 

2. Final q is pronounced. 

But the q of cinq is silent before a consonant or aspirate 
h of a following word multiplied by it. 

Examples: cinq Uvres, five books; cinq hiboux, five owls. 

3. It is silent in the name Cinq-Mars, as is also the s. 

57 R. 1. The sound of r is always a trill. It is made with 
the tip of the tongue, or with the uyula. 

2. Final r is silent — 

a. In all infinitives in -er. 

b. In most polysyllabic nouns and adjectives in -er. 

c. In monsieur and messieurs. 

d. In Alger, Tanger, Roger. 

e. In volontiers. 

/. In all words in -ier, except hier, avant-hier, fier (adjective). 

g. Important exceptions to b above are the following, wherein the r 
final is sounded : amer, cancer, cuiller, enfer, ether, hiver, revolver, 
steamer, tender. 

Note. — In English, r after a vowel often changes the sound of the 
vowel, or adds a vanish to it. Nothing like this happens in French. 

58 S. 1. S has two sounds, that in sun and that in rose. 

2. It has the hissing sound at the beginning of a word 
or of part of a compound. 

Examples: set, vraisemblable. 

It has this sound always when doubled. 

Examples: possession, tasse. 

3. S has the sound in rose when between vowels. 

Examples: rose, base, Us disent. 

a. Not, however, if the s begins part of a compound word, like 
vraisemblable (made of vrai + semblable). 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 17 

4. S, if pronounced before or after a consonant, has the 
sound in sun. 

Examples : sarcasme, esprit, sceau, svelte, christianisme. 

5. S, if silent in a simple word, is silent before a conso- 
nant in the compound. 

Examples : mesdames, desquels. 

6. S is silent in a great many proper names where it 
stands before a consonant. 

Example: Du Guesclin. 

7. S sounds like z in 

intransitif, transaction, transalpin, transatlantique, 
transiger, transigible, transit, transitif, transitoire, 
transition, Alsace, Alsacien. 

8. Final s sounds in very many words, most of them 
borrowed from Greek, Latin, or other languages. 

Examples : atlas, biceps. 

Final s sounds in bis, jadis, fils, mars, helas, omnibus, ours, 
as, es, laps, lis (meaning a flower — the lily), oasis, os (in the 
singular), sus, us, vis (a screw). 

9. a. In the word gens the S is sounded by some. The general 
usage seems to be to drop the S before a consonant, especially in set 
expressions like gens de guerre, gens d'affaires, gens d'esprit. 

b. The S of OS is generally heard in the singular and silent in 
the plural. 

c. The final S of S3ns is usually sounded. 

In sens commun it is silent, as it is also in sens dessus dessous 
(topsyturvy) and in le bon sens. 

d. The S of plus is often sounded when terminating a phrase or 
sentence, or before the word que (than). 

e. The S of tous is sounded when this word is a pronoun. 

/. S is silent in fleur-de-lis. 

59 T. 1. The normal sound of this letter is the same as that 
of the English t in tell. It is possibly more dental. (See 
§44.) 



18 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. Th is equal to t. (See § 59, 7.) 

3. T often sounds like s in see. 

a. The syllable ti sounds as though written ci in the combination 
-tia, in words in -tiaux, -tiaire, -tiel, -tieux, -tio, -tion, -tium, 

•tins, -tien (in proper names and adjectives), provided neither S nor 
X precedes the t ; also in words in -atie, -etie, -itie, -otie, -utie, and 
in the words ineptie, inertie, argutie, balbutier, difffcrentier, 
initier, satiete, balbutiement, patient and its derivatives. 

Examples : partial, partial, portion, Latium, Egyptien, Titien, 
aristocratic, prophetic 

b. Some exceptions are Chretien and its derivatives, SOUtien, 
antienne, etioler, and verbs where the ending -tions occurs. 

In these words the t has its proper sound. 

4. Final t sounds in many words. 

Some important examples are abject, abrupt, Christ (not in Jesus- 
Christ), chut, contact, correct, direct, dot, est meaning east, exact, fat, 
heurt, infect, intact, occiput, rapt, strict, tact, transept, ut, whist, 
net. 

(In all the above the consonant that precedes the final t is also 
pronounced.) 

5. Usage varies in regard to the t of but, distinct, fait 
(the noun), respect (generally ct silent, and c joined before 
a vowel). 

6. a. The t of sept and huit becomes silent before a consonant 
when they multiply the following word. 

Examples : sept livres, huit maisons. 

b. The t of vingt sounds in the numbers from 21 to 29 inclu- 
sive. The t of qnatre-vingt is always silent. 

7. Final th in Goth, Ostrogoth, Visigoth is silent. 

60 V. Offers no difficulties. 

61 W. 1. This letter generally sounds like v. 

2. It sounds like w in many English proper names. 

3. It sounds like f at the end of Eussian names. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 19 

62 X. 1. This letter sounds like ks or gz. 

2. It has one of these sounds even at the beginning of 
a word, usually that of gz. 

Example : Xavier (sound gz). 

3. Ex beginning a word and followed by a vowel sounds 
like gz. 

Examples : examen, exiler. 

Except execrable and kindred words. 

4. X equals z in deuxieme, dix-7iuit, dixicme, diz-neuf, 
sixain, sixieme. 

5. For final x in proper nouns consult dictionary, or a 
detailed work on pronunciation. 

6. Final x in French words is usually silent. 

7. The x of six and dix sounds like s. 

It is silent before consonants when it multiplies the following word. 
Examples : six Uvres, dix maisons. 

63 Z. 1. Z sounds as in English. 

Example : zero. 

2. Final z is usually silent. 

3. Final z in proper names is sounded. 
Examples : Berlioz, Booz. 

In ez final in proper names and after a consonant it 
has the sound of s. 

Examples : Alvarez, Fritz. 

64 Doubled consonants. 

a. In general, two like consonants together are pronounced as 
one. 

Examples : appeler, nettoyer, belle, essence, affaire. 

b. In elevated style a doubled consonant in certain words is often 
pronounced as two, or it is dwelt upon as in the English home-made, 
wholly, hall-light. 

This is true of words beginning with ill, imm, as illusion, im- 
mense. 

In general, this pronunciation of a doubled consonant is confined 
to rather rare and learned words, and is of secondary importance for 
the student. 



20 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Division of Woeds into Syllables 

65 a. In pronouncing French words the syllables are made to 
begin with consonants and end with vowels as far as possible. 

b. Therefore any single consonant is pronounced with the fol- 
lowing vowel: 

Examples : di-vi-si-bi-li-te, plai-re, 

e-co-lier, con-ti-nu-er, 

li-ber-te, trou-ver, 

fro-ma-ge, ge-ne-reux, 

Ca-na-da, ma-tin. 

c. The division of plai-re and of fro-ma ge for ordinary speech 
is merely theoretical. It applies in actual pronunciation only in sing- 
ing and sometimes in declamation. But it is important to know that 
plaire is never pronounced like the English word player ; there must 
be no vowel sound between the ai and the r. Again, the ble in the 
French word table does not sound as in the English word table. 
There must be no vowel sound between the b and 1; the e mute 
may sound slightly after the bl. 

d. X goes with the preceding vowel in dividing in print. 
Examples : ex-i-ler, ex-il. 

e. Ch, ph, th, gn, go with the following vowel. 

^Examples : a-che-ter, a-pho-ne, 
a-the-e, a-gneau. 

f. The groups consisting of 1 or r preceded by a consonant go 
with the following vowel : 

Examples : de-da-ra-ti-on, 
e-prou-ver, 
ou-vri-er, 
re-sou-dre, 
fa-ble. 

g. Sph, str, go with the following vowel : 

Examples : at-mo-sphe-re, 
i?i-strui-re. 
h. In printing, words are divided between doubled consonants, 
as ap-pe-ler, bel-le, but the first is not pronounced. See § 64. 

In printing, again, h is sometimes made to begin a syllable, as 
in bon-heur; this word is composed of the two words, bon and heur. 
The division in pronunciation is bo-nheur, the h being silent. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 21 

i. Concerning the details of syllable division between vowels, it 
is best to consult a work on versification. The prose and poetry 
divisions do not always agree. 

;. The e mute after a vowel, but not final, never constitutes a 

syllable. 

Examples: ai-maient, gaie-U, 

de-voue-ment, joue-ra. 

66 Stress. Here we have a fact of supreme importance in the 
acquisition of a pronunciation of French : No syllable in a 
French word is pronounced very much more strongly than 
the others. The syllables are pronounced very evenly, and 
the last (except it be e mute) is strong, but does not ob- 
scure the others. 

The learner should be drilled in this even utterance, 
and continually cautioned against running over syllables 
or changing their sound as he speaks more rapidly. 

67 Quantity. By quantity is meant the relative length of syl- 
lables. The distinction between long and short syllables 
exists in French, though less marked than in some lan- 
guages. Long syllables are generally found only before a 
final e mute syllable. 

a. A final vowel sound is short. 

Examples : fini, allons, grand, alia, maim, heureux, heros. 

b. Nasal vowels are long before a final e mute syllable. 
Examples : grande, prince, prompte, chance, grange. 

c. When the word ends in the sound of r, Z, j, V, or the 1 mouil- 
I6e (whether the e mute is written with it or not), the vowel pre- 
ceding is long. 

Examples : vinrent, genre, gaze, cave, terre,juge, rose, bataille, rare, 
serieuse, 

d. See § 6. 

e. Before any final consonant sound eu and the close are gen- 
erally long. 

Examples : peur, meule, faute, fosse. 

f. Other vowels than the above are usually short. 
Examples : glace, madame, feroce, parole. 



22 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

G8 Liaison. By liaison is meant the pronunciation of a final 
consonant usually silent, which is then joined to the initial 
vowel of the following word, as in vous^avez, ils^ont^eu, 
mon^ami, le grand hoinme. 

This phenomenon is peculiar to French, and is of the 
greatest importance. Its full force and significance can be 
learned only by long experience in the language. The 
general principles are as follows : 

1. Liaison occurs only between words closely related, and 
never occurs if a pause intervenes. 

2. It is less frequent in familiar conversation than in 
reading, in serious, elevated diction, in declamation or 
in poetry. 

3. There are, therefore, liaisons which are always made, 
and others which are made or not; at the choice of the 
speaker. 

4. The consonants that are oftenest linked to the fol- 
lowing word are s and t. 

B and m are never so linked. 

5. Change of sound in linking : 

d sounds as t : grand homme. 
f sounds as v : neuf hommes. 
g sounds as k : rang^eleve. 
s sounds as z : les^enfants. 
x sounds as z : je veux^aller. 

G. Only the last consonant is linked. 
In des grands homines the d is silent. But see below 
under T. ^ 

7. There is no liaison before the aspirate h, or before 
onze, onzieme : les hiboux, les onze. 

8. C. The liaison of c is rare. The c of respect is joined. 
D. An adjective in -d is joined to its noun : 

Un profond^abime. 
Second^etage. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 23 

A noun in -d is generally not joined : 
Le nid a ete enleve. 

D after r is not joined, except between a verb and 
its pronoun : 

TJn Irouillard \ epais. 
Perd^il? 
G. The g of long, rang, sang, is generally linked to a 
closely related word : 

Un longjhiver. 
L. In gentil, the 1 takes the sound of 1 mouill6e in 
liaison, as in un gentil^enfant. Otherwise a 
silent 1 remains silent. 
N. The n of adjectives is joined to a following noun : 
En plein^air, mon^ami, le moyen^dge, un^arire. 
The n of on is joined to its verb : 

On^aime. 
The n of en is joined to a verb after it : 

II en^a. 
The n of the preposition en is joined: 

En^Italie. 
The n of non, bien, rien, when closely related to 
the next word, is joined : 

Non^avenu, bien^eleve, il rfa rien^appris. 

The n of a noun is never joined. 

P. Beaucoup and trop are sometimes joined. 

Q. The q of cinq is joined. 

R. The r of infinitives ending in -er, and of adjec- 
tives ending in -er, is joined in more elevated 
styles, sometimes also in ordinary conversation: 

Le premier homme. 
Aimer ^a jouer. 
S. S, x, z, are usually joined to the next word. 



24: FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

T. a. This consonant is the most difficult to give an account 
of. Examples of liaison are given : 

11 avait^eu. Le fattiest certain, 

lis sont heuj'eux. Maint^exploit. 

Causant^entre eux. Devant^-un verbe. 

11 faut^-y aller. De haut^en bas. 

11 vint^d deux heures. Accent^aigu. 

Un moment^apres. Un excellent^artiste. 

Extremement^occupe. Cet homme. 

II est heureux. C'est^un ami. 

Pret^d tout. II peut^aller. 

Petit^d petit. Point^interrogatif. 

Elle croit^en Dieu. Prompted parler. 

Tot^ou tard. Touted Vheure. 

b. T after r is usually not joined: 

JJne mort I affreuse. 
But the t of verbs is always joined to its pronoun : 

Sert-il? 
The adverb fort is joined : 

Fort^d plaindre. 

c. In the word respect the C is linked, and not the t. 
Example : respect humain. 

9. Any final consonant regularly pronounced is joined 
to the next word if it begins with a vowel sound and the 
words are closely related. 

This is a striking peculiarity of French as compared with 
English. Compare the two ways heard in English of pro- 
nouncing not at all. Some say not^at^all, others not \ at \ all. 
The French incline always to link words. 
Examples : 

leur^ami, il^est, 

avec^un ami, style anime, 

la robe est faite, vieillard aimable, 

la mer^etait, le pere a eu, 

regard insolent, lourd d porter. 

In the above examples, remember that d after r is silent. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 25 

69 Elision. 1. Before a word beginning with a vowel or h 
mute the e of the pronoun ce, of de, je (before its verb), le, 
me, ne, que, se, te is elided, and an apostrophe written to 
mark the omission : 

Jest, d'amis, fai, rami, rrCaime, n'est pas, qiCa-t-il, s'ac- 
corde, faime. 

The i of si is elided only before il and ils : sHl. 
The a of la is elided : T'orange, Vaime. 

2. But the e mute is always elided in pronunciation 
(even when it is not in writing) when the next word begins 
with a vowel or silent h and there is any close relation be- 
tween the words. The last consonant is then linked. 

Examples : votre oncle = votroncle. 

elle entend = ellentend. 

Vhomme est bon = Vhommest bon. 
de bonne heure = de boneure. 
grande influence = grand influence. 

3. Before onze and onzieme there is no elision : Le onze. 



SPECIAL REMARKS ON FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 

In learning the pronunciation of the French language, 
nothing can be substituted for constant and careful imita- 
tion. Students may, however, be greatly aided in this ef- 
fort to imitate if they will strive to avoid consciously cer- 
tain tendencies of utterance natural to them as speakers of 
English. Most learners unconsciously and instinctively sub- 
stitute the nearest English sounds for the French sounds 
they are trying to produce, and especially do they fall back 
into the English manner of pronouncing a succession of 
syllables. With those students, therefore, who do not suc- 
ceed in imitating the teacher, the following points should 
be dwelt upon :. 



26 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



Most speakers of English pronounce fare, fail, for, fool, pure, poor, 
pole, as though they were words of two syllables, or as though the 
vowel were in each a diphthong. This sound occurring after the main 
vowel sound has been called a vanish. 

The French vowels never have the vanish of the English 
vowels. 

Mark the contrast between 

d6 and day, l'eau and loiv, 

pere and pear, Rhone and roan, 

pour and poor, mort and more, 

frele and frail, dire and dear. 

II 

The French consonants are pronounced more firmly 
than those of the English language. This is to be noticed 
especially at the end of words. The word grand in English 
has one syllable. Grande in French has two. The e may 
be nearly silent, but the d sounds with force. 

Ill 

The consonants are pronounced with the following 
vowels when possible, and not with the preceding ones. 
Mark the contrast between the syllable division of the 
French and the English 

a-ni-mal, animal. 

di-vi-si-bi-li-te, divisibility. 

pre-sent, present. 

in-fi-ni-tif, infinitive. 

A-me-ri-que, America. 

cou-sin, cousin. 

pu-blic, public. 

pu-bli-ci-te, publicity. 

ge-o-gra-phie, geography. 

ge-ne-ro-si-te, generosity. 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 27 

IV 

The strongest tendency of English-speaking students is 
to slur the unstressed French vowels. This is especially 
likely to happen at the middle one of a group of three syl- 
lables. 

Contrast 



ge-n6-ral 


and 


general^ 


car-di-nal 


and 


cardinal^ 


a-go-nie 


and 


agony, 


e-pau-lette 


and 


epaulette, 


en effet 


and 


in effect, 


na-tu-rel 


and 


natural, 


La-fa-yette 


and 


Lafayette, 


re-la-tif 


and 


relative. 



An excellent exercise is to pick out the vowels, sound 
them separately, and then pronounce the word. For ex- 
ample : 

6, 6, a : general. 

a, a, h : Lafayette. 

e, a, i: relatif. 



English-speaking students have an exceedingly strong 
tendency also to mispronounce the e before r. Constant 
reiteration is required to overcome it in such words as 
verle, adverse, superlatif, perdu. 

Exercises in Pronunciation 

The words in the following exercises have been chosen 
with a view to drilling the student in the relation between 
the written and spoken forms of the French vowel. The 
lists comprise only words whose meaning is sufficiently ap- 
parent. 



28 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



I 



Exercise in syllable-division. 



realite 


protecteur 


murmure 


Paul 


paradis 


honneur 


humidite 


Saul 


absorbe 


receveur 


vegetal 


affectueux 


succes 


glorieux 


aloi 


mineral 


curiosite 


animal 


repete 


tresor 


curieux 


beaute 


public 


bouquet 


Portugal 


Paris 


gaiete 


regret 


vanite 


detail 


naif 


liqueur 


naturel 


detaille 


Moise 


superieur 


criminel 


decisif 


Ivanhoe 


Crusoe 


adieu 


desespere 


capital 


manuel 



II 

Exercise on words containing the e mute. 



Eussie 


tannerie 


Suede 


theatre 


forteresse 


Asie 


Xorvege 


Afrique 


Acliille 
(§ 52, 6) 


Espagne 


idee 


fidele 


aide 


Catherine 


Autriche 


idees 


extreme 


acte 


Madeleine 


Europe 


joie 


cruelle 


famille 

(§ 52, 6) 


Marguerite 


bataille 


Italie 


hommage 


horrible 


Suisse 


superbe 


folie 


spectacle 


noble 


role 


orcliestre 
(§ 43, 2) 


yue 


juge 


surete 


robe 


ligne 


revue 


republique 


religieux 


reconnaitre 


signe 


Turquie 


omelette 


religieuse 


juste 


table 


Australie 


refuge 


Belgique 


rose 


regne 


artillerie 


Prusse 


Amerique 


peuple 


remede 


(§ 52, 6] 


1 








menace 


menu 


energie 


catechisme 


degre 


refus 


ressemble 


calme 


methode 


queue 



THE FRENCH ALPHABET 



29 



III 



Exercise on words containing a nasal vowel. 



Anglais 


demande 


patient 


comedien 


Angleterre 


danger 


patiente 


comedienne 


Irlande 


dangerenx 


patience 


serein 


France 


justement 


silence 


sereine 


Hollande 


jugement 


it alien 


saint 


chance 


tremblement 


italienne 


sainte 


chancelier 


strictement 


Saint-Denis 


instinct 


ambigu 


evident 


singulier 


satin 


champagne 


evidemment 


masculin 


melon 


mangeoire 


gaiement 


feminin 


long 




IV 
Nasal vowels 


continued. 




triomphe 


ancien 


cousin 


parfum 


triomphant 


ancienne 


cousine 


parfumerie 


triomphante 


humble 


ressemblance 


examen 


syntaxe 


humilite 


fin 


examine 


sympathie 


humiliation 


fine 


inquiet 


peintre 


ignorant 


immense 


iniquite 


feint 


ignorante 


innocent 


joint 


camp 


ignorance 


automne 


point 


chant 


intelligent 


feminin 


pointe 


certain 


inintelligent 


feminine 


Blanche 


certaine 


combinaison 


decemment 


ennemi 




V 
The letter r. 


See § 57. 




rare 


serve 


paternel 


affirme 


r arete 


herbe 


terreur 


conforme 


depart 


martyr 


meurtre 


source 


arbitraire 


ferveur 


histoire 


nature 


art 


ferme 


genre 


usurpe 


perfection 


vertu 


descendre 


port 


service 


determine 


myrte 


exporte 



PART II 



LESSON" I 

1. The father, le pere. The mother, la mere. 

The son, le fils (§ 51, The daughter, la fille (§ 52, 6). 

4, and § 58, 8). 
The brother, le frere. The sister, la scour (§25,4). 

The cousin, le cousin. The cousin, la cousine. 

The fathers, les peres. 

The mothers, les meres. 

The brothers, les freres. 

The sisters, les soeurs. 

The Definite Article is le before a singular 
masculine noun, la before a singular feminine 
noun, les before any plural noun. That is to say — 

The Definite Article agrees with the noun in 
number and in gender. 

2. The letter s is added to form the plural of 
most nouns. 

Note. — As this s is silent, we distinguish le pere from les peres, in 
listening, only by the sound of the article. 

MASCULINE FEMININE 

3. The friend, l'ami. The friend, ramie. 
The uncle, l'oncle. The aunt, la tante. 
The man, l'homme. The hostess, l'hotesse. 

Both le and la are changed to V before a vowel 
or silent h. Note that the apostrophe is not a sign 

30 



THE ARTICLES 31 

of separation in sound, bnt of union : Fami is pro- 
nounced as though written lami. 

4. The friends, les amis. The men, les hommes. 
The s of the article les before a word begin- 
ning with a vowel sound is pronounced with the 
sound of z and joined to the following word. See 
§ 68. 

5. A judge, un juge. A woman, une femme (§ 10, 9). 
An officer, un officier. A lady, une dame. 

(§ U, 2). 
The Indefinite Article agrees with its noun in 
gender. 

See § 68, 8. 

6. To have, Avoir 
Indicative Present of Avoir 

I have, j'ai. we have, nous avons. 

thou hast, tu as. you have, vous avez. 

he has, il a. they have, ils ont. 

7. Tu does not correspond exactly to thou. It is used by the French 
in addressing very intimate friends, schoolmates, or young children. 
It is also used between members of the same family. 

In poetry its use corresponds to the English use of thou. 
Hence the translation of tu as is usually you have. 

Exercise for pronunciation, translation, and dic- 
tation : 

1. J'ai un pere. 2. Avez-vous une mere? 3. Nous 
avons^une mere. 4. Avez-vpus une soeur? 5. J'ai une 
soeur et deux freres. 6. As-tu un w oncle ? 7. Oui, mon- 
sieur. 8. Avez-vous vu l'homme ? 9. Nous^avons vu 
l'homme. 10. Les amis ont^une tante. 11. Les cousins 
ont^une soeur. 12. L'hotesse a un fils. 13. Les fils 
ont w un w ami. 14. La tante a une w amie. 15. J'ai vu le 
frere. 



32 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

VOCABULARY 
oui, monsieur, yes, sir, deux, tiuo. 

et, and (§ 11, 5). vu, seen. 

Notes 
7. In monsieur, the n and the r are silent. 
13. The plural of le fils is les fils. When the singular ends in 
s, no s is added for the plural. 

The sign ^ is used in this book to indicate the 
liaison. See § 68. 



LESSON II 



1. The earth is a globe, La terre est un globe. 

The moon shines in the La lune brille dans le ciel 
sky, (52, 6). 

All French nouns are either masculine or femi- 
nine. 

a. Names of male beings are masculine; names of 
female beings are feminine. 

b. The gender of French nouns whose English equiva- 
lents are neuter is learned chiefly by experience. Learn 
each noun with its article. 

2. Present Indicative of Avoir, interrogatively : 

ai-je? have I? avons-nous ? have we ? 

as-tu ? hast thou ? avez-vous ? have you ? 

a-t-il ? has he ? ont-ils ? have they ? 

3. When the pronoun subject is placed after the 
verb, a hyphen is placed between the verb and 
pronoun. 

4. The t in a-t-il is called the euphonic t. It is 
used before il, elle, when the third person sing, of 
the verb ends in a or e. 



INTERROGATION 33 

5. Has he a brother ? A-t-il un frere ? 

Has John a brother ? Jean a-t-il un frere ? (§ 10, 6.) 

Have the boys a father ? Les gar^ons ont-ils un pere ? 

Note the form of interrogation. If the subject 
is a noun it begins the sentence, and the pronoun 
representing it appears after the verb. 

EXERCISE 

1. La terre_est w une planete. La terre w a la forme d'une 
sphere. La lune est le satellite de la terre. Le soleil et 
les planetes forment le systeme solaire. 

2. Avez-vous une carte de France ? Oui. Montrez-nous 
Paris. Paris est w ici. Paris est la capitale de la France. 
La riviere qui traverse Paris est la Seine. Paris est done 
situe sur la Seine. 

3. J'ai ici une fleur. J'ai une rose. La rose est une 
fleur. Xommez-moi une autre fleur. La tulipe est une 
fleur. Louis a-t-il une rose? Oui, il a une rose et aussi 
un lis. Henriette a un bouquet. 

4. Comprenez-vous la lecon? Oui, la lecon est facile. 
Joseph a-t-il aussi compris la lecon ? II dit que la lecon 
est tres facile. II a compris la lecon.. 



VOCABULARY 


autre, other. 




compris (past participle), un- 


aussi, also. 




derstood. 


done, therefore. 




la carte, the map. 


il dit que, he says that. 




Ja fleur, thefloiver. 


facile, easy. 




ici, here. 


le Us, the lily (§ 58, 8). 




montrez-nous, shoiv us. 


qui traverse, which crosses. 


nommez-moi, name me, name 


le soleil, the sun. 




for me. 


comprenez-vous? do you 


un- 


tres, very. 


der stand ? 







3± FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes 

1. De, of, becomes <T before a vowel sound. Forment : Remember 
that exit in the third plural of a verb is a mute syllable. See § 10, 3. 

The liaison (linking) will be indicated hereafter for the "first two 
sentences or groups of sentences only. 



LESSON III 



1. Has she a knife? A-t-elle un couteau? 
Where is the book ? Ou est le livre ? 

It is on the table. II est sur la table. 

Where is the pen ? Ou est la plume ? 

It is in the box. Elle est dans la boite. 

It in the nominative case is translated by il 
when it stands for a masculine noun, and by elle 
when it stands for a feminine noun. 

2. Where are the books ? Ou sont les livres ? 
They are on the chair. Us sont sur la chaise. 
And the pens ? Et les plumes ? 

They are in the drawer. Elles sont dans le tiroir. 

Have you seen the pens Avez-vous vu les plumes et le 

and the paper ? papier ? 

They are on the table. Us sont sur la table. 

They is translated by ils, if any one of the nouns 
it represents is masculine ; by elles, if they are all 
feminine. 

3. To be, Etre 
Present Indicative of Etre 

I am, je suis. we are, nous sommes. 

thou art, tu es. you are, vous etes. 

he is, il est. they are, ils sont. 

Xote. — Be careful about the difference in sound of tu as and tu 
es ; of il a and il est ; and especially of ils ont and ils sont. (§ 68, 5.) 



PRONOUNS 35 



4. Present Indicative of etre, interrogatively 

suis-je? sommes-nous ? 

es-tu? etes-vous? 

est-il? sont-ils? 



EXERCISE 

1. Yenez ici. Oii etes-vous ? Je suis pres de la fenetre. 
Voyez-vous la tour Eiffel? Elle est la. Je vois la tour 
maintenant. Elle est^a peine visible. 

2. Georges et Henri, oii sont-ils? lis sont dans le jar- 
din. Venez, Georges, venez, Henri. Le dejeuner est-il 
pret? II est pret. Henri, etes-vous pret ? Oui, monsieur, 
je suis pret. Donnez-moi un couteau, s'il vous plait. 

3. Charles, oii etes-vous ? Je suis ici dans le jardin 
avec Andre. Avez-vous etudie votre lecon? JSTon, mon- 
sieur. Venez done ici. Ecrivez votre lecon. Elle est 
tres facile. 

4. Avez-vous votre livre ? Non? Oii est-il? II est sur 
la chaise. Prenez votre plume et copiez les phrases dans 
votre cahier. Oii sont les plumes? Elles sont dans la boite. 

VOCABULARY 

venez, come. 6tudi6, studied. 

donnez-moi, give me. la fenetre, the window. 

voyez, see. la tour, the tower. 

6crivez, write. la phrase, the sentence. 

prenez, take. la, there. 

le dejeuner, the breakfast. pres de, near. 

le cahier, the copy-look (h mute), maintenant, now. 

je vois, I see. a peine, hardly. 

le jardin, the garden. pret, ready. 

s'il vous plait, if you please. avec, with. 



36 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

LESSON IV 
EXERCISE FOR A REVIEW 

Put into French 

1. Have you a sister ? I have a sister and a brother. 

2. Has the man a son ? Yes, he has a son. 

3. Have you seen the son ? We have seen the son. 

4. Have they a daughter ? They have two daughters. 

5. The sun shines in the sky. The sun is hardly visible. 

6. Louise has a bouquet. She has a bouquet of roses. 
The rose is a flower. Name me another flower. The tulip 
is a flower. The lily is a flower. 

7. Have you understood the lesson ? Yes, the lesson is 
easy. Has Louis also understood the lesson ? Louis says 
that the lesson is very easy. 

8. Is Paris the capital of France ? Paris is the capital 
of France. The Seine passes through Paris. Paris is situ- 
ated on the Seine. The Seine is a river. 

9. Where is your pen ? It is here on the table. Has 
your brother a pen ? Write the sentence. Copy the sen- 
tences in your copy-book. 

10. Where is your knife ? It is on the table. 

11. Where are the pens ? They are in the drawer. 

12. Joseph, where are you ? Do you see your brother ? 
Come here. Take your pen. Give a pen to your brother. 
Write your lesson. 

13. Are you ready?. Yes, sir. Is breakfast ready? 
Breakfast is ready now,. sir. 

14. Do you see the moon ? She is hardly visible. I see 
the moon now. Is the c -moon near the earth ? 

16. Are we near the Eiffel Tower ? Have you seen the 
the Eiflel Tower ? 



CONTRACTED ARTICLES 37 



LESSON V 

1. I have spoken of you, j'ai parle de vous. 

We have written to John, nous avons ecrit a Jean. 

The preposition a has a grave accent, a the verb 
has none. The two sound alike ; the accent merely 
serves to distinguish them in writing. 

2. The first page of the la premiere page du livre. 

book, 

The palace of the king, le palais du roi. 

The inhabitants of the les habitants du pays (7i mute). 

country, See § 20, 3. 

The preposition de blends with the article le 
into the form du. This contraction is always 
made. 

3. He spoke of the men, il a parle des hommes. 
He spoke of the women, il a parle des f emmes. 

In like manner de les contracts into des. 

4. I have written to the j'ai ecrit au medecin. 

doctor, 

The preposition a blends with the article le 
into the form au. 

5. He gave the meat to the il a donne la viande aux 

dogs, chiens. 

He sent a present to the il a envoye un cadeau aux 
ladies, i dames. 

A + les contracts into aux. 

6. Of the woman, de la femme. 
Of the man, de l'homme. 
Of the emperor, de l'empereur. 



38 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

To the house, a la maison. 

To the queen, a la reine. 

To the empress, a l'imperatrice. 

No contraction is made with la, or when the 
article is followed by a vowel sound. 

7. There is one tree in the II y a un arbre dans le jardin. 

garden, 
There are two trees in H y a deux arbres dans le jar- 

the garden, din (§ 68, 5). 

The real meaning of il y a is not there is or there are, but it has 
there. Therefore the il is always singular. This is called an imper- 
sonal verb. A verb in French that can have il only for its subject is 
called impersonal. In the above sentences arbre and arbres are the 
objects, not the subjects as in English. 

8. Is there ? Y a-t-il ? Are there ? Y a-t-il ? 

EXERCISE 

1. Le maitre_a parle aujourd'hui du soleil et des 
planetes. Il w a dit que le soleil est le centre du systeme 
solaire. Le terre tourne autour du soleil et la lune tourne 
autour de la terre. La lumiere de la lune vienfc du soleil. 

2. Il_a parle ensuite de la mer et des marees. Il w a dit 
que Pat traction de la lune est la cause des marees. Le 
soleil exerce une^innuence sur les marees. Avez-vous com- 
pris la lecon d'aujourd'hui ? Oui, madame. J'ai copie la 
lecon sur_une page du cahier. 

3. Parlez-nous du jardin. II y a un pommier dans le 
jardin. Y a-t-il aussi un poirier ? Oui, il y a un jeune 
poirier. II est dans le coin pres du mur. Venez dans le 
jardin. Parlez au jardinier. Voyez-vous le jardinier? 
Oui, monsieur. II parle aux dames. PL parle des fleurs et 
des fruits. 

4. Xous avons visite le palais du roi. Kous avons vu 
les appartements du roi et de la reine. Avez-vous aussi 
visite le jardin du palais. Oui, il y a une fontaine magni- 
fique dans le jardin. 






CONTRACTED ARTICLES 



39 



5. J'ai parle aujourd'hui a l'ami du jardinier. II est 
tres intelligent. II a donne un bouquet de roses a notre 
soeur. Elle a dit que la rose est la reine des fleurs. 

VOCABULARY 



aujourd'hui, to-day. 
le coin, the corner. 
ensuite (adv.), next, after- 

ivard. 
le mur, the ivall. 
le maitre, the teacher, master. 
notre, our. 
le poirier, the pear-tree. 



le pommier, the apple-tree. 
autour de (prep.), around. 
il a dit que, he said that. 
jeune, young. 
la lumiere, the light. 
la mer, the sea. 
la mar6e, the tide. 
il vient, he comes. 



Notes 
3. II parle. This is the pres. indicative. Translate here, he is 
speaking. Translate a parle by spoke, has spoken, or did speak, ac- 
cording to the use of the English language in the particular case. 



DEILL ON" THE FOEMS 



1. Of the man, 

2. Of the men, 

3. Of the book, 

4. Of the moon, 

5. To the lady, 

6. To the women, 

7. To the houses, 

8. To the friends, 



to the man. 

to the men. 

of the physician. 

of the king. 

to the girl. 

to the aunts. 

to the friend. 

to the inhabitants. 



LESSON VI 



The sky is blue. 
The sea is blue. 
The ox is strong. 
The oxen are strong. 



Le ciel est bleu. 
La mer est bleue. 
Le boeuf est fort (see § 45, 3). 
Les boeufs sont forts (see 
§45,3). 



40 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

The tree is high. L'arbre est haut (h asjriree). 

The house is high. La maison est haute. 

The trees are high. Les arbres sont hauts. 

The houses are high. Les maisons sont hautes. 

a. The adjective agrees with the noun it qualifies in 
gender and in number. 

b. The feminine singular is usually formed by adding 
e mute to the masculine singular. 

c. The plural of adjectives is usually formed by add- 
ing s to the singular. 



Petit, small. 


Grand, 


tall, large. 


SING. PLURAL 


SING. 


PLURAL 


Vlasc. petit petits 


grand 


grands 


"em. petite petites 


grande 


grandes 



For the ear the difference between the mascu- 
line and the feminine is often that the last conso- 
nant sound heard in the feminine is not heard in 
the masculine. 

3. A rich man. Un homme riche. 
A rich woman. Une femme riche. 

If the masculine ends in e mute, the feminine 
form is identical with it. 

4. The man's book. Le livre de rhomme. 
Mary's father. Le pere de Marie. 
The king's son. Le fils du roi. 

The nation's honor. L'honneur de la nation (§ 59, 3). 

The possessive case of the English noun is ren- 
dered in French as above. The name of the 
possessor follows the name of the thing pos- 
sessed. 



ADJECTIVES 41 

5. He spoke to Lucy and II a parle a Lucie et a Hen- 
Henrietta, riette. 
We saw the brother of Nous avons vu le frere de Lucie 
Lucy and Henrietta. et d'Henriette. 

A and de are repeated before each noun they 
govern. 

1. L'herbe est verte. Les feuilles des_arbres sont vertes. 
Les Chinois sont jaunes. La race jaune habite l'Asie. Au- 
jourd'hui la mer est bleue. Le ciel de l'ltalie est tou jours bleu. 

2. Connaissez-vous la so3ur de notre ami? Elle est 

tres^aimable et tres w intelligente. Elle vient w ici assez 
souvent. Elle a un petit fils qui est_aussi tres^intelli- 
gent. La mere est done contente. La mere et le fils 
sont tres aimables. 

3. Marie est petite mais Louise est tres grande. Le 
pere de Marie et de Louise est riche. II a une grande 
maison ici et une autre a la campagne. Les peres des au- 
tres filles sont pauvres. Les pauvres sont souvent con- 
tents, et les riches sont souvent tristes. 

4. Aujourd'hui le maitre a parle des montagnes. Ilya 
une montagne tres haute qui s'appelle le Mont Blanc. Le 
sommet du Mont Blanc est toujours couvert de neige. Les 
hautes montagnes sont souvent couvertes de neige. Les 
Alpes sont les principales montagnes de 1'Europe. Elles 
sont tres hautes. 

VOCABULARY 

L'herbe, the grass. toujours, always. 

vert, green. il s'appelle, he is called, his 
connaissez-vous? do you know? name is. 

souvent, often. assez souvent, quite often. 

content, glad, happy. mais, lut. 

triste, sad. la campagne, the country 
pauvre, poor. (§ 47, 1). 

la feuille, the leaf (§ 52, 5). la neige, the snow. 



42 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes 

3. La campagne is the country as distinguished from the city. 
Le pays is equivalent to region, land, nation. 

4. The c in blanc is silent. What shows above that Les Alpes is a 
feminine noun % 



LESSON VII 
REVIEW EXERCISE 

Put into French 



1. Did your father speak of Louis ? No. 

2. Have you written to your father? Yes. We have 
also written to your cousin. 

3. Copy the first lesson on the first page of your copy- 
book. The first lesson of the book is easy. 

4. Did your teacher speak of the sun to-day ? He spoke 
of the sun, moon, and tides. He said that the moon turns 
about the earth, that the earth turns about the sun. He 
said also that the sun is the center of the solar system. 

5. Have you written to the doctor ? Yes, he is coming 
to-day. Give the doctor a pen. 

6. Louis sent a present to the lady. John spoke to the 
ladies. The ladies have sent a present to John. 

7. Is there a pen in the drawer ? There is a pen in the 
drawer. There are two pens in the drawer. Take a pen 
and copy your lesson. 

8. Does the light of the moon come from the sun ? Yes. 
The light of the planets comes from the sun. 

9. There are two trees in the garden, an apple-tree and 
a pear-tree. The apple-tree is near the house. The leaves 
of the trees are yellow now. 

10. The rose is the queen of the flowers. The gardener 
gave a bouquet of roses to the lady. 

11. Is the sky blue ? To-day the sky is blue and the sea 
is blue too. 



VERBS CONJUGATED WITH ETRE 



43 



12. Your house is very small. The garden is large. 
The houses are small. 

13. Is the man rich ? He is rich. Are the men rich ? 
They are poor. 

14 We have written to Louis and Charles. We have 
also written to Louis' cousins. 

15. We have seen the king's palace. We visited the 
king's apartments. 

16. Do you know M. Dubois? He is very intelligent. 
M. Dubois' brother is also very intelligent. The two broth- 
ers are very amiable. 

17. The Alps are very high. The summits of the Alps 
are covered with snow. There is in the Alps one mountain 
which is very high. It is called Mont Blanc. To-day the 
teacher spoke of Mont Blanc. 

Note 

16. Before a gentleman's name HI. is the abbreviation for Monsieur. 
It is to be so read, and not as though it were an initial. 



LESSON VIII 



1. I have gone, 
thou hast gone, 
he has gone, 
we have gone, 
you have gone, 
they have gone, 

She has gone away. 

The ladies have gone out. 

Has he come down ? 

Has he come? 

Has she come ? 

Have they come back ? 



je suis alle. 

tu es alle. 

il est alle. 

nous sommes alles. 

vous etes alles. 

ils sont alles. 

Elle est partie. 
Les dames sont sorties. 
Est-il descendu ? 
Est-il venu ? 
Est-elle venue ? 
Sont-ils revenus? 



U 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



a. A verb signifying to go or to come forms its com- 
pound tenses with etre, to be, and not with avoir. 

Hence, to form the past indefinite of such verbs, use 
the present tense of etre as the auxiliary. 

b. In these verbs the past participle agrees in gender 
and in number with the subject. 

c. The participle forms its feminine and its plural like an adjective. 

d. Agreement with vous. The participle agrees with the real mean- 
ing of vous. To a lady we write, Etes-vous revenue ? To several ladies, 
Etes-vous revenues % 

2. The following verbs are conjugated with etre : 



Aller, il est alle a Paris, 

Partir, elle est partie, 



Sortir, nous sommes sortis, 

Monter, je suis mont6, 

Descendre, ils sont descendus, 

Entrer, etes-vous entre ? 

sont-elles entrees ? 



he went to Paris. 

she has started, she has 

gone away, she has 

left, 
we went out. 
I went up. 
they came down, they 

went down. 

did you go in ? 

have they gone in ? 

_ ., , . (he has come in again. 

Rentrer, il est rentre, i, , . . 

( he has gone m again. 

3. Partir, monter, descendre, entrer, are simple, every- 
day words. Avoid translating them by depart, in- 
stead of go away, start off, or leave ; by mount, 
instead of go up ; by descend, instead of come down, 
etc., unless, of course, the style demands the more 
dignified expression. 



EXERCISE 
1. La bague de notre mere a disparu. Elle croit qu'un 
voleur est^entre dans la maison pendant notre absence. 



VERBS CONJUGATED WITH ETRE 45 

Ce matin nous sommes^alles au pare. Nous sommes par- 
tis de bonne heure, et nous sommes rentres a l'heure du 
diner. La bonne est^aussi sortie. 

2. Les dames sont-elles sorties ? Oui, Madame. Elles 
sont^allees au concert, je crois. Et Gaston, oii est-il? 
Il_est descendu dans le jardin. Voyez-vous? Il w est la 
derriere l'arbre. 

3. Louis a retrouve la bague de notre mere. Lorsqu'il 
est rentre, il est monte dans la petite chambre du second 
etage, et la dans un coin, il a vu la bague. Ma mere est 
tres contente. 

4. Oii etes-vous alles ce matin? Nous sommes alles au 
Louvre, nous avons vu la galerie de sculpture. Ensuite 
nous sommes alles a THotel de Ville, qui est pres du Louvre. 
Nous avons trouve l'Hotel de Ville superbe. Apres, nous 
sommes entres dans un bon restaurant pres de la, nous 
avons mange quelque chose, et nous sommes rentres assez 
tard. 

VOCABULARY 

disparu, disappeared. la bague, the ring. 

il croit, he believes. une heure, an hour (h muette). 

unvoleur, a thief. de bonne heure, early (adv.). 

un 6tage, a story, a floor. la bonne, the maid, the servant. 

ce matin, this morning. quelque chose, something. 

derriere, behind. apres, afterward. 

pendant, during. tard, late. 

bon, bonne, good. assez tard, pretty late. 

mang6, eaten. la, there. 

retrouv6, found. lorsque, when. ' 

Notes. — 1. due becomes qu' before a rowel sound ; so lorsque 
becomes lorsqu\ Entrer is regularly followed by dans. 3. Trou- 
ver is the word for the general idea to find ; retrouver is to recover a 
lost article. 4. Sculpture. See § 55, 3. 



46 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSON IX 

1. The following verbs also form their compound 
tenses with etre : 

Venir, elle est venue, she came. 

Revenir, il est revenu, he came back. 

Devenir, ils sont devenus, they became. 

Hester, je suis reste, I stayed, I remained. 

Tomber, elles sont tomb6es, they fell. 

Arriver, nons sommes arrives, we arrived. 

Mourir, il est mort, he died, also he is dead. 

elle est morte, she died, also she is dead. 

Note. — Hester means to remain, not to rest. 

2. He came back a week ago, II est revenn il y a nne 

semaine. 
They started off twenty min- Ils sont partis il y a vingt 
utes ago, minntes. 

Observe the translation of expressions with ago. 

3. I have written a letter, J'ai ecrit une lettre. 
I wrote a letter, J'ai ecrit nne lettre. 
When did he come back ? Qnand est-il revenu ? 
He came back yesterday. II est revenu hier. 

a. In French the tense formed with the Present Indica- 
tive of the auxiliary verb and the Past Participle is called 
the Past Indefinite. 

b. The Past Indefinite is rendered in English by the 
Perfect Tense with have, or by the simple Past Tense. 

c. Hence, to state either ivhat happened, or what has 
happened, use the Past Indefinite. 

EXERCISE 
1. Les^amis du colonel sont_arrives ce matin. litest 
tres content. Ils sont partis de Paris hier soir. Ils ont 



USE OF THE PAST INDEFINITE 47 

pris un train express. A Lyon ils sont montes dans w un_au- 
tre train. Ils_ont trouve notre voiture a la gare. 

2. Notre pauvre tante est morte il y a une semaine. 
Nous w avons recu la mauvaise nouvelle ce matin de 
bonne lieure. Notre mere est partie a l'instant. Nous 
sommes_alles a la gare avec^elle. 

3. Oii est Marie ? Elle est restee dans la salle a manger, 
je crois. 

4. Yotre soeur est-elle revenue de Marseille ? Oui, elle 
est arrivee il y a une lieure. Elle est devenue une grande 
fille. Elle est tres contente d'etre ici. Nous aussi nous 
sommes contents, car Marie est tres aimable. 

5. Louis est-il sorti? Oui, il est sorti ce matin avec un 
ami qui est venu passer les vacances avec nous. 

VOCABULARY 
le soir, the evening. la voiture, the carriage. 

mauvais, mauvaise, bad. la gare, the railway station. 

car (conj.), for. la nouvelle, the neivs. 

recu, received. la salle a manger, the dining- 

pris, taken. room. 

Notes. — 1. Be means from as well as of. 

A Lyon. In, at, to, are all expressed by & before the name of a 
town. 

4. The adjective content requires de before the following infini- 
tive. 

5. Notice that vacances is plural in the meaning of vacation. It 
is a feminine noun. 

Translate into French 

1. Where did Mary go ? She went down into the dining- 
room. Where is your sister now ? She went out two min- 
utes ago. 

2. Has your mother come down ? Not yet. 

3. Where are the boys ? They have gone into the house. 
The girls have stayed in the garden. They are there, be- 
hind the apple-tree. 



48 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. The house fell. The tree fell. We fell. 

Did yon fall ? Where did she fall ? The men fell. 

5. Has your aunt come back? When did she come 
back? She came back yesterday. She is in the garden, 
I think. 

6. The doctor's friends have gone away. When did 
they go away? They went away two weeks ago. Where 
did they go ? They went to Paris. 

7. The colonel and his brother are dead. When did you 
get the news ? We got the news two weeks ago. Where 
did they die ? 

8. We started from Paris this morning early. We took 
an express train. We got into another train at Lyons. We 
arrived at Lyons an hour ago. Where are we now? 

9. Did you go to the park this morning ? Yes, we started 
early ; we stayed in the park an hour, and then we came 
home again. We went out early, you see, and we got back 
early. Your uncle has come during your absence. 



LESSON X 



1. Money is the sinew of L'argent est le nerf de la 
war. guerre (§ 45, 3). 

Time is precious. Le temps est precieux. 

Hypocrisy is a homage L'hypocrisie est un hommage 
that vice renders to que le vice rend a la vertu. 
virtue. 

He likes animals. II aime les animaux. 

Men are mortal. Les hommes sont mortels. 

Flies buzz. Les mouches bourdonnent. 

When a noun is taken in its general sense, it is 
accompanied in French by the definite article. The 
article so used is often called the Generic Article. 



GENERIC ARTICLE 49 

A noun is used in this way when its meaning 
has its widest application. When we say "He 
likes dogs" we mean dogs as such, not specifying 
any kind or class of dogs. 

2. The verb Porter, to carry. 

Infinitive present. Porter, to carry. 

Present participle. Portant, carrying. 

Past participle. Port6, carried. 

Present Indicative 
je porte, nous portons, 

tu portes, vous portez, 

il porte. ils portent. 

a. A French verb is conjugated partly by changes of 
ending, partly by means of an auxiliary verb. 

b. In porter, port- is the stem, or part that remains un- 
changed throughout, -er is therefore the termination or 
ending of the infinitive. 

c. The present participle of all French verbs ends in 
-ant, just as the corresponding English participle ends in 
-ing. 

d. Porter the infinitive, and porte" the past participle, 
are pronounced alike. 

e. When the first person singular of any tense ends in 
-e, the second always ends in -es, the third in -e. So we 

f" e ' 

have •< -es, 

. " e ' 

f. The first person plural of all regular verbs ends in 

-ons (except in one tense to be learned later). 

g. The second person plural of all regular verbs ends 
in -ez (same exception as in f). 

h. The third person plural always ends in -ent or -ont. 



50 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. Imperative Mood, Present Tense 
Second singular, porte, carry. 
First plural, portons, let us carry, 
Second plural, portez, carry. 

4. Meaning of the present indicative. 

The present indicative states either what is gen- 
erally true, ships carry freight, or what is going on 
at the moment of speaking, / am carrying a pail 
of water, 

I carry, I do carry, I am carrying, are all ren- 
dered in French by the one form, je porte. 

5. Conjugate like porter : 

passer, to pass. fermer, to shut. 

marcher, to walk. parler, to speak. 

EXERCISE 

1. La guerre est^une chose terrible. J'aime la paix. 
Le colonel a dit que les hommes aiment la guerre. II dit 
que l'histoire des nations prouve qu'ils^aiment la guerre. 

2. Le temps passe vite ; il passe trop vite. Comment 
passez-vous le temps ici ? Xons w etudions. Xous_etudions 
la botanique. Xous_aimons les plantes w et les fleurs. Jean 
aime l'etude. H_etudie toujours quel que chose. Il_aime 
les langues. Maintenant il_etudie le latin et le francais. 

3. Parlons des poissons. Les poissons vivent dans l'eau. 
Les autres animaux, qui vivent sur la terre, respirent Fair. 
L'air est necessaire a la vie. L'eau est aussi necessaire a 
la vie. Aimez-vous le poisson? Oui, mais j'aime mieux la 
viand e. 

4. Fermez la porte, il y a un courant d'air. Les cou- 
rants d'air sont dangereux. J'ai ferme la porte et la fene- 
tre. Les mouches sont entrees par la fenetre de la salle a 
manger. 



GENERIC ARTICLE 51 

5. Avez-vous etudie la lecon ? Oui, elle est facile. Les 
verbes sont-ils difficiles? Les verbes francais sont assez 
difficiles. Copiez les verbes dans votre cahier. 

6. Le nom eau est feminin. Air est un nom masculin. 

VOCABULARY 

aimer, to love, to be fond of. la paix, peace. 

vite, quickly. une 6tude, a study. 

trop, too. une langue, a tongue, a Ian- 

comment, hoio. guage. 

toujours, always. la vie, life. 

mieux (adv.), letter. ils vivent, they live. 

difficile, difficult. la porte, the door, the gate. 

6tudier, to study. par, through. 

le poisson, the fish. respirer, to Ireathe. 

la chose, the thing. l'eau, the mater. 

Note. — 3. Notice that the adverb ' mieux. is placed immediately 
after the verb. This is a general rule as to the place of the adverb. 

EXERCISE 

1. He likes money. They are fond of money. They are 
too fond of money. I am fond of dogs. 

2. Dinner is ready. Do you like fish? I like meat 
better. 

3. Men breathe air. Air is necessary to life. Air and 
water are necessary to the life of animals. Men and ani- 
mals are mortal. 

4. Fish live in water. Do they breathe air? They 
breathe the air that is (qui est) in the water. 

5. Let us carry the flowers into the house. 

6. Have you studied history? Yes, sir. Do you like 
history ? I like history. 

7. The teacher said to-day that war is a terrible thing. 

8. Are you studying French ? We are studying French. 
The other boys are studying Latin. I like Latin ; I am 



52 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

fond of languages. John likes botany better. He likes 
plants and flowers. He came in an hour ago, and now he 
is in the garden. He is talking to the gardener. 

9. The lady says there is a draft. Shut the window. 
She says that drafts are dangerous. 

10. Have you studied the verbs in to-day's lesson ? Yes, 
they are quite easy. We copy the verbs in a copy-book. 



LESSON XI 



1. My book, mon livre. My pen, ma plume. 
My books, mes livres. My pens, mes plumes. 
Thy father, ton pere. Thy mother, ta mere. 
Thy parents, tes parents. Thy sisters, tes soeurs. 
Our garden, notre jardin. Our house, notre maison. 
Our books, nos livres. Our lessons, nos lecons. 
Your friend, votre ami. Your aunt, votre tante. 
Your friends, vos amis. Your cousins, vos cousines. 

a. My, thy, our, your, in English are usually classed 
as pronouns. The corresponding Erench words are classed 
as Possessive Adjectives. 

h. The Possessive Adjective agrees in gender and in 
number with the name of the thing possessed. 

2. The Verb: Finir, to finish. 

Inf. pres. Finir, to finish, to end. 

Part. pres. Finissant, finishing. 
Part, past, Fini, finished. 

Indicative Pkesent 

je finis, nous finissons, 

tu finis, vous finissez, 

il finit, ils finissent. 



POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES 53 



Impekative 

finis, 

finissons, 

finissez. 

a. Verbs that have the infinitive in -er are called verbs 
of the First Conjugation. 

h. Yerbs that have the infinitive in -ir are called verbs 
of the Second Conjugation. 

Notes. — a. Fin- is taken as the stem of the verb finir. b. The stem 
of the present participle of verbs like finir always adds iss to the verb- 
stem. 

g. When the first person singular of any tense ends in -s, 
the second singular ends in -s, the third singular in -t. So 
we have -s 

-s, 
-t. 

d. The plural of the present indicative is formed by 
changing -ant of the present participle into 

-ons, 

-ez, 

-ent. 

e. The imperative is formed from the present indica- 
tive by dropping the subjects. 

3. I often finish my lessons Je finis souvent mes lecons 

before you. avant vous. 

You always finish your Yous finissez toujours votre 
work before us. travail avant nous. 

The adverb is usually placed after the verb, not 
before it, as in English. 

4. The tree is in front of L'arbre est devant la maison. 

the house. 



54 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Avant means before in point of time. It denotes priority, 
and corresponds to aprfcs, after. 

Devant, before or in front of, relates to position. It cor- 
responds to derrifcre, behind. 

5. Conjugate like finir : 

punir, to punish. choisir, to choose. 

ch6rir, to cherish. rougir, to blush. 



EXERCISE 

1. Les lions rugissent. Les boeufs mugissent. Les 
boeufs mangent de l'herbe. Les lions mangent quelque- 
fois les boeufs. 

2. Charles est sourd a mes conseils. litest devenu tres w 
independant. Le maitre a dit 1'autre jour a ma mere qu'il w 

est peu content de la conduite cle Charles. II punit bien 
rarement les^eleves, mais^il punit mon frere assez sou- 
vent. 

3. J'etudie le latin, mon frere a choisi le francais, et 
ma sceur I'allemand. Chacun etudie done une langue dif- 
ferente. 

4. Ta sceur a-t-elle pris mon livre de musique? Mais 
non, ton livre de musique est la pres du piano. II est 
tombe, probablement, lorsque Gustave a ouvert le piano. 

5. Nous cherissons nos enfants. 

Le maitre a dit aujourd'hui aux eleves : Cherissez tou- 
jours vos parents. 

6. Choisissez quelques-unes des pommes qui sont la. 
Elles sont mures, je crois. Oui, elles sont tres bonnes. 

7. Vous rougissez. Pourquoi rougissez-vous ? Louis 
rougit facilement. II est tres timide. Chaque fois que le 
maitre adresse une question a Louis, il rougit. 

Mais nous aimons beaucoup Louis. 



THE SECOND CONJUGATION 



55 



rugir, to roar. 
mugir, to loiv, to bellow. 
chacun, each one, every one. 
chaque fois, each time, every 

time. 
quelquefois, sometimes. 
quelqu'un, some one. 
quelques-uns, quelques-unes, 

a few. 
le conseil, the advice, counsel 

(§ 52, 2). 
le jour, the day. 
un 61eve, a pupil. 



VOCABULARY 

sourd, sourde, deaf. 

peu (before an adj.), not very. 

bien (before an adj. or an 

adv.), very. 
la musique, music. 
la pomme, the apple. 
ouvert, ouverte, open, opened. 
mux, mure, ripe. 
beaucoup, very, very much. 
timide, bashful. 
pourquoi, why, what for. 
un enfant, 
une enfant, 



:}• 



child. 



Pallemand (masc), German. 

Notes. — 2, 4, 7. Adverbs are formed from adjectives very com- 
monly by adding -ment. This ending corresponds to the ly of Eng- 
lish adverbs. 

4. The use of ton corresponds to that of tu. 

6. La pomme, the apple. Le pommier, the apple-tree. 
La poire, the pear. Le poirier, the pear-tree. 
La cerise, the cherry. Le cerisier, the cherry-tree. 

Observe the force of the ending -ier added to the name of a fruit. 
Mur, ripe, has a circumflex accent. Le mur, the ivall, has none. 

7. Notice the spelling of adresser and of address. 

Question. Nouns in -tion are feminine. In this word the t has 
its normal sound, that in tu. 





DRILL ON 


VERB 


FORMS 


1. Finishing. 




2. 


Let us choose. 


Choosing. 






We choose. 


Carrying. 






You choose. 


Speaking. 






Does he choose ? 


3. Chosen. 




4. 


He is blushing. 


Spoken. 






They are blushing. 


Has he punished ? 




Is he blushing ? 


Have you 


punished ? 




Are they blushing ? 



56 



FIRST 


FRENCH BOOK 


5. I study. 


6. I choose. 


We study. 


Have you chosen ? 


Let us study. 


Choose. 


Study. 


Let us punish. 


7. Do they choose ? 


8. He punishes. 


Do they punish ? 


He is punishing. 


They cherish. 


He does punish. 


We cherish. 


We do punish. 


LESSON XII 


His son, son fils. 


His daughter, sa fille. 


His sons, ses fils. 


His daughters, ses filles. 


Her son, son fils. 


Her daughter, sa fille. 


Her sons, ses fils. 


Her daughters, ses filles. 


Its fruit, son fruit. 


Its flower, sa fleur. 


Its fruits, ses fruits. 


Its flowers, ses fleurs. 


Their nest, leur nid. 


Their niece, leur niece. 


Their nests, leurs nids. 


Their nieces, leurs nieces. 



a. The French language has only one possessive adjec- 
tive for the third person singular. Like those in the pre- 
ceding lesson, it agrees with the name of the thing pos- 
sessed, without regard to the gender of the possessor. 
Hence, the pupil must be on his guard against saying sa 
livre for " her book " or son mere for " his mother." 

h. Observe that leur does not add an e for the feminine. 
2. A friendship, Une amitie. 

My friendship, Mon amitie. 

Her friendship, Son amitie. 

Mon, ton, and son, and not ma, ta, sa, are used be- 
fore feminine nouns if a vowel sound follows them. 

His sister, is sa sceur. 

But 

His amiable sister, is son aimdble sceur. 



POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES 57 

EXERCISE 

1. Aimez-vous les w enfants? line mere aime toujours 
ses^enfants. Ma mere a toujours w aime son fils. Un bon 
fils aime et respecte sa mere. Eespectons toujours nos 
parents. Honore ton pere et ta mere. La pauvre Hen- 
riette a perdu ses deux parents, et il y a un^an elle a perdu 
son frere. 

2. Finissons nos lecons. Georges a-t-il fini sa lecon? 
Il^a fini sa lecon de francais, mais_il_etudie maintenant au 
piano. Il^etudie avec sa scaur un joli morceau. Finissez 
vite, Georges, et venez avec nous. 

3. Mon canier et mes plumes sont sur la table dans 
ma chambre. Louis a laisse son cahier et ses livres 
dans le jardin. Venez, mes enfants, prenez vos livres et 
finissez vos exercices. Oh, j'ai fini mon exercice il y a 
longtemps. 

4. Ecrivez la phrase suivante : 

Les hirondelles batissent leurs nids dans les cheminees 
des maisons. 

Ecrivez une autre phrase : 

Les animaux nourrissent leurs petits. 

Pourquoi mettez-vous les lettres ent a la fin du verbe 
batissent f Parce que la troisieme personne du pluriel a la 
terminaison ent au present de l'indicatif. 

5. Connaissez-vous le proverbe : Tout est bien qui finit 
bien ? 

6. Recitez le verbe porter au present de l'indicatif. 
Recitez l'imperatif de clierir. 

Dites-moi le participe present de choisir. 
Traduisez la phrase en francos. Traduisez la phrase en 
anglais. 

Note. — 1. Parents. This word means relatives as well as parents. 
2. To practise, is also etudier. 3. The x in exercice = gz. 



58 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 



un an, a year. 
un morceau, a piece. 
suivant, following. 
parce que, because. 
bien, well. 

dites, tell (imperatiye). 
traduisez, translate (impera- 
tiye). 
tout, everything, all. 
en anglais, into English. 
mettez-vous, do you put? 



perdu, lost. 

laisser, to leave. 

longtemps, long (adv.). 

une hirondelle, a sioallow. 

la fin, the end. 

troisieme, third. 

traduit, translated (partici- 

pie), 
batir, to build. 
nourrir, to feed, nourish. 



LESSOR XIII 



REVIEW 



Translate into French 



1. Choose a flower. I choose the rose. Have you chosen 
a flower, Henriette ? Xow choose a fruit. I choose a cherry. 
Louis chooses a pear. The girls are choosing a flower, the 
boys are choosing a fruit. 

2. Your brother arrived before us. Oh, yes, he started 
early this morning. 

3. You sometimes finish your lessons before your brother. 
The teacher often punishes Louis. Does he often punish 
the other pupils ? 

4. Each time that I went to Paris I visited the Louvre. 

5. I have finished each one of my lessons. Some of my 
lessons are very difficult. 

6. There is a boy behind the apple-tree. There is a boy 
behind each tree. 

7. Are the cherries ripe ? I am very fond of cherries. 
Our large cherry-tree fell the other day. 



POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES 59 

8. My little boy, have you lost your pencil ? Have you 
eaten your apples ? Where is your mother ? 

(Use the proper pronoun and possessive adjective in addressing the 
little boy.) 

9. The lion roars, the ox lows. 

10. Has the doctor come ? Yes, he came long ago. Did 
you see the doctor, Louis? No, sir, he came during my 
absence. 

11. Marie loves her father. Little girls love their 
father. Parents love their children. Animals love their 
little ones. 

12. Antoinette is at the piano. She is practising a very 
pretty piece. She always practises an hour. To-day she 
has practised two hours. 

13. Where does the swallow build its nest? Swallows 
build their nests in chimneys. A swallow is building its 
nest in our chimney. 

14. Always respect your parents. Let us always honor 
our parents. Love your friends. Cherish your friends. 
Let us cherish her friendship. I cherish his friendship. 

15. Yesterday they lost their books. To-day they have 
lost their copy-books. Children are terrible. Where has 
Louise left her copy-book ? 

16. She has lost her son. He has lost his pen. He has 
lost his pencils. He has lost my friendship. 

17. The flowers are falling. The flowers have fallen. 
Flowers perish quickly. The tree has lost its leaves. 

Note. — Many English verbs in -ish come from the French Ian- 



guage : 










finir, 


finish. 


perir, 


perish. 


bannir, banish. 


cherir, 


cherish. 


fleurir, 


flourish. 


fournir, furnish 
(meaning to supply). 


punir, 


punish. 


brandir, 


brandish. 


polir, polish. 



60 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSON" XIV 



1. Have you paper ? Avez-vous du papier ? 
Do you want any paper ? Youlez-vous du papier ? 
I have some paper. J'ai du papier. 

a. Here the noun paper is not taken in the general 
sense. When an English noun is accompanied by some 
or any, or when its meaning would be unchanged by 
prefixing some or any, we have a noun in the Partitive 
Sense. 

b. In French the noun in the Partitive Sense is preceded 
by the Partitive Article. 

This article is identical in form with de -j- the Definite 
Article. So we have 

Before a masculine singular noun beginning with a 
consonant, du. 

Before a feminine singular noun beginning with a 

consonant, de la. 

Before any singular noun beginning with a vowel 

or silent h, de 1'. 

Before any plural noun, des. 

Butter, du beurre. 

Meat, de la viande. 

Air, de Fair. 

Eggs, des ceufs (fs both silent). 

2. Des may be considered a plural of un : 

I have an egg. J'ai un oeuf (/ pronounced). 

I have eggs. J'ai des ceufs. 

3. Give me an apple. Donnez-moi une pomme. 
Give me a few apples. Donnez-moi quelques pommes. 

If some is equivalent to a few, it is translated by 
the adjective quelque in the plural. 



THE THIRD CONJUGATION 61 

4. The verb Rendre, to give back. 

Inf. pres., rendre, to give back. 
Part, pres., rendant, giving back. 
Past part., rendu, given back. 

Pkesent Indicative 



je rends, 


nous rendons, 


tu rends, 


vous rendez, 


il rend, 


ils rendent. 



Impeeative 
rends, 
rendons, 
rendez. 

a. Verbs that have the infinitive in -re are called verbs 
of the third conjugation. 

b. Notice that in the third singular t is not added when 
the stem ends in d. Most of the verbs of this conjugation 
have the stern in d. This d, when joined before a word 
beginning with a vowel, has the sound of t. See § 68. 

c. Rompre, to break, adds the t in the third person : 

je romps, tu romps, il rompt. 

5. In like manner conjugate : 

vendre, to sell. attendre, to iv ait for, to expect. 

perdre, to lose. entendre, to hear. 

repondre, to answer. interrompre, to interrupt. 

Note. — Be careful to sound the first e in interrompre as e. 

6. Trees have branches and Les arbres ont des branches et 

leaves. des feuilles. 

Fishes have fins. Les poissons ont des nageoires 

(§10,6). 
Kings are men like us. Les rois sont des hommes 

comme nous. 

Note the generic and partitive nouns above. 



62 FIRST FRENCH -BOOK 

7. The boy and girl are Le garcon et la fille scmt 
here. ici. 

The article must be expressed with each noun, 
and not left to be understood, as it often is in Eng- 
lish. 

EXERCISE 

1. Les libraires vendent des livres et du papier a ecrire ; 
nous vendons des journaux et pas w autre chose. 

Les bouchers vendent de la viande. 

Le boulanger vend du pain. 

%. II y a- des gens qui sont tou jours contents ; ils sont 
rares. 

Y a-t-il des roses dans votre jardin ? Mais oui, il y a des 
roses et des fleurs de toutes sortes. 

3. Les hommes ont des mains et des pieds. Les chats 
et les chiens ont des pattes. Les oiseaux ont des ailes. 
Les arbres fruitiers sont des arbres qui portent des fruits. 

4. Je vends du beurre, du lait, et des ceufs. Mon frere 
est marchand de vins. II vend du vin et des liqueurs 
francaises. 

5. Kepondez a ma question. Vous repondez mal. Jean 
repond tres bien a toutes mes questions. II a etudie sa 
lecon. 

6. Nous repondons toujours a vos lettres. Avez-vous 
repondu a la carte postale de votre ami ? Mais oui, il y a 
bien longtemps. Maintenant j 'attends une reponse. 

7. Attend ons votre frere. Oil est-il? II est monte dans 
sa chambre. Mon frere interrompt toujours la lecon. II a 
perdu quelque chose. II perd toujours quelque chose. 
J'entends le pauvre garcon ; il descend maintenant. 



POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 



63 



VOCABULARY 



le libraire, the bookseller. 
papier a 6crire, ivriting-paper. 
les journaux, the newspapers. 
le pied, the foot (§ 11, 3). 
le chat, the cat. 
un oiseau, a bird. 
le lait, the milk. 
le vin, the wine. 
mal, badly. 



autre chose, something else. 
pas autre chose, nothing else. 
les gens, people, folks. 
la main, the hand. 
la patte, the paw. 
une aile, a wing. 
le pain, the bread. 
tout, toute, 



tous, toutes, f 



all. 



Notes.— 3. Notice that the plural fruits is used where the English 
often has the singular. 

7. Attendre, to wait for. The preposition for is not expressed by a 
preposition in French after attendre. 

To answer is repondre a ; just as we say reply to. 



LESSON XV 



1. This book is mine. Ce livre est le mien. 

Where is yours ? u est le vdtre ? 

John has his. Jean a le sien. 

As mine, thine, his, Iters, its, ours, yours, theirs, 
stand instead of the thing possessed, they are 
possessive pronouns. 



2. 



Table of the Possessive Pkonotos 

Sing. Plural. 



Sing. Plural. 

M. le mien, les miens, 
F. la mienne, les miennes 



M. le tien, 
F. la tienne, 

M. le sien, 
F. la sienne, 



les tiens, 
les tiennes, 

les siens, 
les siennes, 



[■ thine. 

\ his, 
> hers, 
) its. 



le notre, les ndtres, 
la n6tre, les notres, 
le vdtre, les vdtres, 
la vdtre, les vdtres, 

le leur, les leurs, 
la leur, les leurs, 



yours. 



theirs- 



64 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. The possessive pronoun agrees in gender and 
number with the noun it represents. [It agrees, 
therefore, with the name of the thing possessed.] 

Note the difference between the adjective notre and the pronoun 
le n6tre. Notre and votre are pronounced with the open sound of 
o, le notre and le votre with the close sound of o. 

4. This toy is very fragile. Ce joujou est bien fragile. 
Who planted, this tree ? Qui a plante cet arbre ? 
This house is not solid. Cette maison n'esfc pas solide. 
These toys are very Ces joujoux sont bien fragiles. 

fragile. 

Who planted these trees ? Qui a plante ces arbres ? 

These houses are not Ces maisons ne sont pas so- 
solid, lides. 

The Demonstrative Adjective 

Ce is used before a noun masculine singular beginning 

with a consonant. 
Cet is used before a noun masculine singular beginning 

with a vowel or h mute. 
Cette is used before a noun feminine singular. 
Ces is used before a noun plural. 

This and that are both rendered by ce, etc., when 
there is no special distinction between two objects. 

5. I speak. Je parle. 

I do not speak. Je ne parle pas. 

He is singing. II chante. 

He is not singing. II ne chante pas. 

Not is expressed by the word ne placed before 
the verb, and pas placed after it. 

a. The true negative word is ne. Pas (meaning step) is 
a completing word, as when we say in English he wouldn't 
go a step, he doesn't like it a hit, he doesn't care a straw. 



THE DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE 65 

There are other words besides pas used to complete the 
negation in French, and there are cases where no complet- 
ing word is necessary. 

EXERCISE 

1. Donnez-moi ce cahier, s'il vous plait. Comment ! 
n'avez-vous pas le votre. Le mien est^en haut, dans ma 
chambre. Alors, je refuse. Je ne donne pas mon cahier 
a un garcon paresseux. Allez chercher yotre cahier. 

2. Pretez-moi votre plume, la mienne est mauvaise. Je 
gate mes plumes tres vite. Et alors vous prenez les plumes 
de vos^amis. C'est tres gentil ! 

3. Admirez-vous cette maison ? Oui, et j 'admire la 
votre, mais je n'aime pas la mienne. Pourquoi done ? 
Parce qu'elle n'est pas assez grande. 

4. Avez-vous apporte vos livres ? Oui, Mademoiselle, et 
les autres ont apporte les leurs, excepte Louis qui a perdu 
le sien. Puisque vous avez deux livres, Francois, pretez 
un des votres a Louis. Merci, Francois. 

5. Le maitre a loue l'exercice de mon frere, mais il n'a 
pas parle du mien. Le mien n'est pas tres bon, je suppose. 

6. Louise joue avec ses amies et Charlotte avec les sien- 
nes. Comment ! n'ont-elles pas les memes amies ? Oh, non, 
Charlotte est trop jeune pour jouer avec les amies de sa 
sceur. 

VOCABULARY 

comment ! how, what's that, paresseux, lazy. 

c'est, that's. en haut, upstairs (§ 68, 7). 

chercher, to look for, seek, gentil, nice (§ 51, 3). 

get. puisque, since. 

preter, to lend. meme, same. 

gater, to spoil. merci, thanks. 

apporter, to Iring. louer, to praise. 
jouer, to play. 

Note. — 6. Pour jouer. The infinitive used as explanatory of trop 
is preceded by pour. 



66 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

LESSON XVI 
REVIEW 

1. Do you want any eggs? Give me one egg. Take 
some meat. Have you any bread? I have some bread, 
thank you. Give me some butter, if you please. 

2. Men are animals. Apples are fruits. The apple is a 
fruit. The names of fruit-trees often have the ending -ier. 

3. Do you want some water ? Do you put water in your 
wine ? Give your brother some wine. 

4. Have you friends in Paris ? I have a few friends in 
Paris. 

5. Have you lost any money? My brother is always 
losing money. 

6. John interrupted the teacher and the teacher pun- 
ished John. Do not interrupt people. 

7. Give me some writing-paper, if you please. Do you 
want anything else ? That's all, thank you. 

8. We are expecting friends. Haven't they come ? 

9. Is there a baker near here ? We want some bread. 

10. The bookseller sells books, newspapers, and writing- 
paper. 

11. He answered all my questions. He always answers 
well, because he studies his lessons. 

12. This dog is very intelligent. Mine is not intelli- 
gent. Is yours intelligent ? 

13. Give Mary your book ; John has hers. The other 
girls have theirs. 

14. These plants are very pretty. Does your gardener 
sell all these pretty plants ? Yes, these plants are his. He 
does not sell ours. 

15. Does your sister sing ? Yes ; her teacher says that 
she sings very well. 

16. Do you know that man ? Yes ; he came back from 
Paris not long ago with my brother. 



THE PRONOUNS CE AND CELUI 67 

17. You have my copy-book. Where is mine ? Yours 
is there, behind that book. I have your pens, too ; where 
are mine ? You left yours upstairs. 

18. I do not admire these houses ; I like the others 
better. Don't you like your aunt's house? Yes, I like 
hers. From her windows she sees the park. She sees trees, 
grass, and flowers. 



LESSON XYII 



1. Whose book is that ? A qui est ce livre ? 
It is mine. C'est le mien. 
Who is there ? Qui est la ? 

It is your brother. C'est votre frere. 

Who are those men ? Qui sont ces hommes ? 

They are our friends. Ce sont nos amis. 

a. Ce is also a pronoun. It is oftenest found as the 
subject of the verb etre. 

h. He is, she is, it is, are translated by c'est before a 
determinate noun in the singular, or before a singular 
pronoun. 

c. They are, it is, are translated by ce sont before a 
determinate noun in the plural, or before a plural pronoun. 

By a determinate noun is meant one determined by an 
article, a demonstrative adjective, or a possessive adjective. 

2. He is a soldier. II est soldat. 

It is the soldier who was C'est le soldat qui a ete blesse. 
wounded. 

H est soldat answers the question, What is his calling f 
or To what class of men does he belong f In French a 
predicate noun used like an adjective has no article. 

C'est un soldat answers the question, Who is it f or Who 

is he f 



68 FIRST FEENCH BOOK 

3. Is it my book that you Est-ce mon livre que vous 

have there ? ayez la ? 

It is John's. C'est celui de Jean. 

Here John's is used to mean John's hook. We might 
in French say, c'est le livre de Jean, but we avoid repeat- 
ing the noun by using the demonstrative pronoun celui. 

4. Table of the Dehoksteative Peonouk celui. 

Masc. Sing, celui, Masc. Plur. ceux, 

Fern. Sing. celle, Fern. Plur. celles. 

5. Have you a pen ? Avez-vous une plume ? 
The one I have is bad. Celle que j'ai est mauvaise. 
Take Frank's. Prenez celle de Francois. 
Take those which are on Prenez celles qui sont sur la 

the table. table. 

Those who are absent have Ceux qui sont absents ont 
missed the lesson. manque la lecon. 

Like all pronouns, celui agrees in gender and in 
number with the noun it stands for. 

Note. — Be careful to pronounce ce-lui, not cellui. 

EXERCISE 

1. Ce monsieur qui est la pres de la fenetre, c'est Mon- 
sieur votre oncle, n'est-ce pas ? Non, Monsieur, ce n'est 

pas lui, il ne ressemble meme pas_a mon^oncle. C'est 
quelqu'un que je ne connais pas. Mon w oncle n'est pas^ici 
en ce moment. 

2. Avez-vous lu le journal de ce matin ? Non, qu'y 
a-t-il ? II y a des nouvelles bien tristes. Un grand nom- 
bre de nos soldats ont_ete blesses. II y a aussi une liste de 
ceux qui sont morts. 

3. A qui appartient cette maison? Je ne sais pas. 
Celle qui est a cote et celle qui est en face appartien- 



THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN 69 

nent a M. Laurent. Je crois que c'est lui qui est le pro- 
prietaire de toutes ces maisons. 

4. Est-ce Louis qui a laisse ces livres ici? C'est tres 
probable. II oublie toujours ses livres. Qui, ce sont les 
livres de Louis, et ceux qui sont la-bas sur la chaise sont a 
Charles. Le maitre punit souvent ces ga^ons parce qu'ils 
oublient leurs livres. C'est comme 9a qu'ils manquent leurs 
le9ons. 

5. J'invite tous ceux qui sont presents. Acceptez-vous, 
mes amis ? Certainement nous acceptons. Ayec plaisir. 

6. C'est pour votre frere que yous avez garde ces fruits, 
n'est-ce pas ? Non, ce n'est pas pour lui specialement. 

7. Votre frere ou est-il ? II est a Paris, il est avocat. 

8. M. Dubois est arrive par le train de ce matin, et les 
autres par celui qui arrive a midi. Celui qui arrive a midi 
est le rapide. 

9. Ceux des corps celestes qui tournent autour du soleil 
sont des planetes. Les autres, qui sont a des distances in- 
calculables du soleil, sont des etoiles fixes. 

VOCABULARY 

le monsieur, the gentleman, c'est comme ca, that's the 

lu, read. way. 

je sais, I know. meme (adv.), even. 

oublier, to forget. 6t6, been. 

la-bas, yonder, over there. a cot6, alongside, at the side. 

garder, to keep. en face, opposite. 

par, by. pour, for. 

le rapide, the through ex- un avocat, a lawyer. 

press. midi (m.), noon. 

comme ca, like that, that le corps, the body. 

way. une 6toile, a star. 
il appartient, he belongs. 

Notes. — 1. N'est-ce pas, added to a statement, turns it into a 
question. 



70 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

You have written the letter, Vous avez ecrit la lettre, n'est-ce 

haven't you I pas % 

They have written the letter, lis ont ecrit la lettre, n'est-ce pas ? 

haven't they% 
It is he. C'est lui. 

II is used for he only when subject of a verb. 

Your father. Monsieur votre pere. 

Your aunt. Madame votre tante. 

Your niece. Mademoiselle votre niece. 

These forms are used for the sake of special politeness. 
1, 3. Je sais (from savoir). Je connais (from connaitre). 
Savoir means to know facts, things learned. 

Connaitre means to know persons, places, things seen or heard, to be 

acquainted with. 
Ressembler is followed by a. 

Pkesext Indicative of savoir 
Je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, 
ils savent. 

3. Appartient is third person singular; Appartiennent, third 
person plural. 

LESSON XYIII 
REVIEW 

Translate into French 

1. Whose house is that ? It is M. Dubois'. It is 
ours. It is my uncle's. Whose houses are these? They 
are M. Dupont's. 

2. Who is that man ? He is a soldier. Who are those 
men ? They are soldiers. They are the colonel's men. Is 
that gentleman a lawyer? No, he is a physician. 

3. To whom do these flowers belong ? I think they are 
Louise's. No, they are my sister's. 

4. Take this pen ; the one you have is poor (mauvaise). 
Those which are in the box yonder are excellent. 

5. Do you like these trees? Yes, but I prefer those 
which are in M. Dupont's garden. His are very tall. The 



IMPERFECT AND PLUPERFECT TENSES 71 

grass here is very green, but our flowers are not pretty. 
His are magnificent. 

6. That lady is your mother's friend, isn't she ? No, I 
do not know that lady. She looks like Mme. Dupont, but 
it is not she. 

7. A little bird fell out of that tree this morning. It 
fell from the one which is over there near the wall. Poor 
little bird ! I love birds. I love those that sing. All birds 
sing, don't they? Why, no. 

Note. — Out of or from after tomber is de. 

Why, no, is mats non. Why not f is pourquoi pas ? 

8. Haven't you forgotten something? You have for- 
gotten your pencil. Take mine, or take the one which is 
there in the box. Whose pencil is this ? It is my brother's, 
I think. 

9. Who planted these roses? The gardener planted 
those which are here, and my sister planted those which are 
opposite. My sister's are very pretty, aren't they ? 

10. Do you know Avhy he did not come to-day ? I think 
he missed the train. 

11. Do you know that gentleman ? Yes ; he is the 
owner of all these houses. He is very rich. Does your 
brother know the gentleman ? Does he know that he is 
here? 

12. Do you know why you do not know your lessons ? 
It is because you do not study. 

13. Do you know those two brothers ? I know the one 
that lives in Paris ; I do not know the other. 



LESSON XIX 



1. Indicative Imperfect of avoir 

j'avais, I had. nous avions, we had. 

tu avais, thou hadst. vous aviez, you had. 

il avait, he had. ils avaient, they had. 



72 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



3. 



5. 



Indicative Impekfect oe etre 
j'etais, I was. nous etions, we were, 

tu etais, thou wast. vous etiez, you were, 

il etait, he was. ils etaient, they were. 



Intekkogative 



avais-je 



had I? 



was I? 



There was, il y avait. 
"Was there ? y avait-il ? 



etais-je ? 

There was not, il n'y avait 
pas. 

Was there not ? n'y avait-il 
pas? 
The Indicative Pluperfect 



Venir 

j'etais venu, 
tu etais venu, 
il etait venu, 
nous etions venus, 
vous etiez venus, 
ils etaient venus. 

Etre 

j'avais ete, I had been, 
tu avais ete, etc. 

The Pluperfect tense of a French verb is formed 
by combining the Imperfect of the auxiliary with 
the Past Participle of the verb. 



Finir 
j'avais fini, I had finished, 
tu avais fini, 
il avait fini, 
nous avions fini, 
vous aviez fini, 
ils avaient fini. 

Avoir 

j'avais eu, I had had. 

tu avais eu, etc. 



6. I have not. 
I have not at all. 



Je n'ai pas. 
Je n'ai pas du tout. 
I Je n'ai point. 
Have you ever been in Avez-vous jamais ete a Paris? 

Paris ? 
He never reflects. II ne reflechit jamais. 

He does not work much. ) T , .,, . .„ ^ wS 

He hardly works at all. j ll ne traTallle & u6re <§ 53 ' 5 >" 
Point marks a stronger negative than pas. 



THE IMPERFECT TENSE 73 

7. My brother and sister Mon frere et ma soeur etaient 

were with us. avec nous. 

Take away those books Enlevez ces livres et ces pa- 

and papers. piers. 

JSTote the repetition of determining adjectives. 

8. Take away that book and Enlevez ce livre-la et laissez 

leave this. celui-ci. 

This pen is good, that one Cette plume-ci est bonne, 

is bad. celle-la est mauvaise. 

The distinction between this and that is obtained by 
adding -ci to the noun or demonstrative pronoun for the 
nearer object, -la for the more remote. 

EXERCISE 

1. Dans la mythologie grecque les Naiades etaient les 
nymphes des fontaines. Avez-vous^etudie la mythologie ? 
Oui, il y a longtemps de cela, quand j'etais jeune. Cette 
etude etait-elle interessante ? Mais oui, j'aimais w assez la 
mythologie. II y avait des histoires de dieux, de demi- 
dieux, de heros, de satyrs, de nymphes, que sais-je ? Jupiter 
etait le roi des dieux. Junon etait son w epouse. Puis w il 
y avait Venus qui etait la deesse de la beaute, et Minerve 
qui etait celle de la sagesse. Apollon etait le dieu du soleil, 
et Diane etait la deesse de la lane. 

2. J'ai vu Louis hier, il avait^un mauvais rhume. 11^ 
etait sorti sans pardessus par le grand froid que nous_ 
avons_eu il y a quelques jours. Il_a toujours_ete tres^im- 
prudent. 

3. Lorsque j'ai vu Josephine elle n'avait point encore 
ecrit sa lettre. Elle n'aime pas du tout a ecrire. 

4. Lorsque nous etions a la campagne nous avions un joli 
bateau. J'aime beaucoup les promenades en bateau. A 
present je n'ai jamais Toccasion d'aller a la campagne. Je 
ne quitte jamais la ville, je suis trop occupe. 

5. Lorsque le maitre est arrive nous etions assis a nos 



74 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

places. Chacun avait son livre ouvert devant lui. Le 
maitre a dit aux eleves de fermer leurs liyres. Puis il a 
commence la lecon de geographic La sujet de la lecon 
etait le climal des differentes zones. 

VOCABULARY 

cela (pron.), that. assis, assise, seated. 

de cela, since then. une Spouse, a spouse, a wife. 

puis, then, furthermore. la sagesse, wisdom. 

le froid, the cold (tempera- la place, the place. 

ture). en, in. 

le rhume, the cold (illness), une occasion, an opportunity. 

le pardessus, the overcoat. lorsque, when. 

quitter, to leave. encore, yet. 

Notes. — 1. Adjectives of nationality are not written with capitals: 
The French language, la langue francaise. The h of heros is aspirate : 
le heros. But we say Vherolne, Vhero'isme, Vhero'ique defense. Q,ue 
sais-je ? an idiomatic phrase, " I don't know what all." Spouse is a 
dignified term. The ordinary word for wife is femme. 2. Par. Used 
here idiomatically : Par cette chaleur, in this heat ; par une nuit tres 
froide, on a very cold night. 3. Notice that aimer governs a following 
infinitive by means of the preposition a. 5. Dire requires de before 
the infinitive it governs. 

Translate into French 

1. I had, he had, had he ? 

2. Was I ? was he ? he was not. 

3. I had had, I had come. 

4. They are. They have gone away. 

5. He has not, he has never had, we are not, we were 
not. 

6. We had not been. We had not reflected. Have you 
finished ? Haven't you finished ? 

7. Did they go out in this boat ? Yes ; they are very 
fond of boat-riding. 

8. Are your brother and sister here ? Xo, they are not 
here. 



PLURAL OF NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES ?5 

9. Give me those pens and pencils, if you please. Do 
you want these pencils or those ? Give me those. Thanks. 

10. This overcoat is mine ; that is yours. Take away 
those overcoats ; leave these. 

11. The god Apollo was one of the gods of Greek 
mythology. He was the god of beauty, and also the god of 
the sun. Juno was the queen of the gods, the consort of 
Jupiter. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom. I like 
mythology. The stories of the gods and heroes are very 
interesting. 

12. Louis has a cold. Yes, I know. He had a cold yes- 
terday. He went out without an overcoat. 

13. The pupils were seated. The teacher told each 
one to study his lessons. We had our books open be- 
fore us. 

14. Was your uncle here when you arrived? No; he 
had left. My sister says he has gone to Paris. 

15. Was there any one in the dining-room? Yes; there 
was Louis and one of his friends. 

16. He is not very prudent. He is not at all prudent. 



LESSON XX 



1. Gold is a metal. L'or est un metal. 

Nearly all the metals are Presque tous les m6taux sont 

useful in the arts. utiles dans les arts. 

He is your rival. II est votre rival. 

They are rivals. lis sont rivaux. 

A mineral product. Un produit mineral. 

Mineral products. Des produits min6raux. 

Most nouns and masculine adjectives in -al form 
the plural by changing al into aux. 

Note above the irregular masculine plural tous. 



76 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



2. He lost his right arm. II a perdu le bras droit. 
Eaise your arms. Leyez les bras. 

The wall is low. Le mur est bas. 

The walls are low. Les murs sont bas. 

She had a beautiful voice. Elle avait une belle yoix. 

A duet is a piece of music Un duo est un morceau de 
for two yoices. musique pour deux voix. 

JSTouns and masculine adjectives in -s, -x, -z, 
remain unchanged in the plural. 

3. We visited the chateau Nous avons visite le chateau 



of Chambord. 
The Rhine is famous for 

its ruined castles. 
Do you like that game ? 
I don't care for games. 



de Chambord. 
Le Rhin est fameux par ses 

chateaux en ruines. 
Aimez-vous ce jeu? 
Je n'aime pas les jeux. 

Nouns in -au and in -eu add x to form the plural. 

4. That picture is beautiful. Ce tableau est beau. 
Those pictures are beauti- Ces tableaux sont beaux. 
ful. 

Adjectives in -au form the masculine plural by 

adding x. 







PLURAL. 


The jewel, 


le bijou, 


les bijoux. 


The pebble, 


le caillou, 


les cailloux. 


The cabbage, 


le chou, 


les choux. 


The knee, 


le genou, 


les genoux. 


The owl, 


le hibou, 


les hiboux (h aspiree). 


The toy, 


le joujou, 


les joujoux. 


The louse, 


le pou, 


les poux. 



Note these seven nouns. 

6. The eye is a wonderful 

instrument. 
The ox has beautiful eyes. 
He doesn't like work. 



L'oeil est un instrument mer- 

veilleux. 
Le bceuf a de beaux yeux. 
II n'aime pas le travail. 



PLURAL OF NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 77 

The works are already be- Les travaux sont deja com- 

gun. mences. 

The sky is blue. Le ciel est bleu. 

The heavens were studded Les cieux etaient semes d'e- 

with stars. toiles. 

Note these irregular plurals. 

7. Have you my hat ? Avez-yous mon chapeau ? or 

Est-ce que vous avez mon cha- 
peau? 
Are they happy ? Sont-ils heureux ? or 

Est-ce qu'ils sont heureux ? 

By prefixing est-ce que any statement may be 
turned into a question. 

EXERCISE 

1. Decrivez-nous les_images qui sont dans votre livre. 
Toutes ces^images representent des^animaux. Parmi 
les w oiseaux de proie il y a des^aigles, des vautours, des 
hiboux. Les^yeux du hibou sont bien gros. Est-ce que 
ce petit^oiseau-la n'est pas_un oiseau-mouche ? Quelqu'un 
a dit que les w oiseaux-mouches sont les bijoux de la nature, 
lis sont tres beaux, leur plumes brillent_au soleil comme 
des bijoux. Voyez ce chameau. Les chameaux sont_utiles 
aux_hommes qui habitent les pays chauds, et qui traversent 
le desert. Cet_animal-la est w un taureau. Les taureaux 
sauvages sont dangereux. 

2. Louis a les^yeux noirs et sa sceur a les w yeux bleus. 
Lorsque j'etais^enfant j'avais les cheveux blonds; aujour- 
d'hui ils sont bruns. 

3. Nos soldats ont ete victorieux, ils ont gagne la bataille. 
Nos troupes victorieuses sont entrees hier dans la ville, ac- 
clamees par une foule enorme. 

4. Louis, apportez-moi mon chapeau, voulez-vous ? Oii 
sont done nos chapeaux? Je ne sais pas. Est-ce qu'ils ne 



78 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

sont pas sur la table ? Non. Eegardez sous la table. lis 
sont tombes, peut-etre. 

5. II y a trois regnes dans la nature, le regne animal, 
le regne vegetal, le regne mineral. L'etude des mine- 
raux s'appelle la mineralogie, n'est-ce pas? Et comment 
appelez-vous la science des metaux ? Elle s'appelle la me- 
tallurgie. 

6. Levez la main droite. Levez la main gauche. Levez 
le bras droit. Levez les deux bras. 

7. Ces messieurs ont fonde plusieurs hopitaux et une 
grande bibliotheque. lis sont tres genereux. 

VOCABULARY 

dScrire, to describe. la proie, the prey. 

parmi, among. peut-etre, perhaps, maybe. 

sous, under. gros, grosse, big. 

un aigle, an eagle. chaud, chaude, warm. 

un vautour, a vulture. sauvage, wild. 

le chameau, the camel. brun, brune, brown. 

le taureau, the bull. la foule, the crowd. 

gauche (adj.), left. la bibliotheque, the library 

fonder, to found. (§ 59, 2). 

noir, noire, black. plusieurs, several. 

une image, a picture. regarder, to hole. 

un oiseau-mouche, a humming-bird. 

Notes. — 1. -la is added to a noun preceded by ce, cet, cette, ces, to 
distinguish it emphatically. 2. Note carefully the idiom here. Cheveu, 
hair, when singular means a single hair. In speaking of a person's hair 
use the plural. 6. Notice the article where the English has a possessive. 
The article is often so used when there is no ambiguity, especially in 
speaking of parts of the body. 7. Notice the plural of monsieur. 



PLURAL OF NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 79 

LESSON XXI 
REVIEW 

1. Gold is a metal. He had a ring of gold. He likes 
jewels. These jewels are very beautiful. 

2. All my friends have gone away. All my friends had 
gone away. Nearly all his friends are dead. 

3. The horse is useful to man. Horses are useful to 
men. 

4. Those two men are rivals. That man was my rival. 

5. They are building a high wall around the garden. 

6. These duets are very beautiful. Don't you like the 
other pieces ? 

7. The child was on its mother's knee. The child was 
on its mother's knees. 

8. Are her eyes blue ? Were her eyes blue ? Has she 
blue eyes? His hair is black. He has black hair. 

9. He is happy. They are happy. We were happy. 

10. This picture represents a beautiful garden. The 
grass is green. There is a tall tree in the center of the 
garden. There is a fountain, too. There are some chil- 
dren near the tree. 

11. When we were children we had playthings. 

12. Botany is a science, isn't it? Botany and miner- 
alogy are sciences. The sciences are useful to man. 

13. He opened his eyes. His eyes are open. His eyes 
were open. He closed his eyes. His eyes are closed. His 
eyes were closed. 

14. He raised his left hand. Eaise your hand. Eaise 
the other hand. Raise both hands. 

15. Men belong to the animal kingdom. Plants, trees, 
and flowers belong to the vegetable kingdom. Water be- 
longs to the mineral kingdom. 

16. Birds of prey eat animals. Is the owl a bird of 
prey ? Owls, eagles, and vultures are birds of prey. 



80 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

17. Take away all those tables and leave these. What 
for ? I don't know why. The teacher did not say why. 

18. Is there a hospital near here? There are two hos- 
pitals near here. 

19. Owls have big eyes. Humming-birds have small eyes. 

20. Our troops are victorious. 

21. Have you seen the famous castles of the Ehine? 



LESSON" XXII 



1. Strong, stronger, strongest. Fort, plus fort, le plus fort. 

a. The comparative of superiority is formed by pre- 
fixing the adverb plus to the simple adjective. 

b. The superlative is formed by prefixing the definite 
article to the comparative. 

2. Strong, less strong, least Fort, moins fort, le moins 

strong. fort. 

The comparative of inferiority is formed by means of 

moins. 

Note. — The French say moms bon very commonly, whereas in 
English we generally say not so good, rather than less good. 

3. He is as strong as his II est aussi fort que son pere. 

father. 
The comparative of equality is formed by means of the 
adverb aussi. 

4. He is taller than his II est plus grand que son pere. 

father. 

He is not so tall as his II est moins grand que son 

father. pere. 

He is as tall as his II est aussi grand que son 

father. pere. 
Que is used before the second term of comparison, and 
translates either than or as. 



COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 



81 



5. A strong man. Un homme fort. 

A stronger man than I. Un homme plus fort que moi. 
The strongest man of all. L'homme le plus fort de tous. 
My most faithful friends. Mes amis les plus fideles. 
With adjectives that go after the noun the superlative 
still retains le, so that it may occur twice. 

6. The following adjectives generally precede the noun : 



beau, 


handsome, 


vilain, 


ugly. 


bon, 


good. 


mauvais, 


bad. 


court, 


short. 


long, 


long. 


grand, 


tall. 


petit, 


small. 


gros, 


big. 


moindre, 


less. 


jeune, 


young. 


vieux, 


old. 


meilleur, 


better (§ 52, 5). 


pire, 


ivorse. 



Otherwise adjectives generally follow the noun. 

But adjectives that form one idea with the noun, not adding any- 
thing to define or specify, usually precede. For instance : 

The famous Conde. Le fameux Conde. 

Here we are not giving information about Conde, or distinguishing 
him. 

7. You have some pretty Yous avez la de jolies fleurs. 

flowers there, 
Some bread, du pain. Some good bread, de bon pain. 

Some flour, de la farine. Some good flour, de bonne farine. 
Some books, des livres. Some very pretty de fort jolis li- 

books, vres. 

When a noun in the partitive sense is preceded by an 
adjective, the preposition de is used instead of the partitive 
article. 



8. Your baker sells better 
bread than ours. 
Your pen is better than 

mine. 
He is the best man in 
the world. 



Yotre boulanger vend de meil- 
leur pain que le notre. 

Votre plume est meilleure que 
la mienne. 

C'est le meilleur homme du 
monde. 



82 FIRST FKENCH BOOK 

The comparative of bon is meilleur (not plus bon) ; the 
superlative, le meilleur (not le pins bon or le plus meilleur). 

9. He occupies the largest II occupe la plus grande cham- 

room in the house. bre de la maison. 

In, after a superlative, is rendered by de. 

10. John is my best friend. Jean est mon meilleur ami. 
The possessive adjective may replace the article in 

forming the superlative. 

Translate into French 

1. Louis is not so strong as his brother. This man is 
not so strong as that. 

2. Henri is the strongest of the three brothers. 

3. I am as strong as my brother. 

4. Is he stronger than I ? 

5. That man is my most faithful friend. 

6. He's a good boy. 

7. Washington was a great soldier. 

8. There was a big cat on the garden wall. 

9. That young man is my brother, and this one is my 
cousin. 

10. He's an ugly man. 

11. I have a bad pen. Haven't you any good pens ? 

12. There was not the least trace of flour on the wall. 

13. He has an old hat. Have you any old hats? 

14. Have you any good bread? This bread is better 
than that. 

15. Louis and Charles are good friends. Mary and 
Charlotte are good friends. 

16. The gardener has some very good apples. 

17. He is better than I. You are not better than he. 

18. He sells better fish than the other man. 

19. I have lost my best friend. 

20. He was the best of my friends. 



COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 83 

21. He was the best friend in the world. 

22. He is the smallest boy in the class. 

23. Paris is the largest city in France. 

24. He imports French silk. 

25. She has some black lace. 

26. She has better lace than you. 

27. We occupy the largest room in the house. You 
have the largest rose in the garden. 

28. I am the tallest boy in the class. 

29. Take the shortest road. 

VOCABULARY 

three, trois. the trace, la trace, the class, la classe. 

to import, importer, the lace, la dentelle. the road, le chemin. 



LESSON XXIII 



1. That man is very active. Cet homme est tres actif. 
Girls are less active than Les filles sont moins actives 

boys. que les garcons. 

Adjectives in -f have the feminine in -ve. 

2. He is not unhappy. II n'est pas malheureux. 
The poor woman is very La pauvre femme est bien 

unhappy. malheureuse. 

Adjectives in -x have the feminine in -se. 

3. This speech is very flat- Ce discours est tres flatteur 

tering for me. pour moi. 

These words are very flat- Ces paroles sont bien flat- 
tering, teuses. 

Adjectives in -eur formed on a verb-stem have 
the feminine in -euse. 



84 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



The tiger is cruel. 

That wild beast is cruel. 

I never saw a man like 
him. 

I never saw a thing like 
it. 

She married an Italian. 

The Italian language is 
easier to pronounce 
than the French lan- 
guage. 

He is very kind. 

This apple is good. 



Le tigre est cruel. 

Cette bete sauvage est cruelle. 

Je n'ai jamais vu un homme 

pareil. 
Je n'ai jamais vu une chose 

pareille. 
Elle a epouse un Italien. 
La langue italienne est plus 

facile a prononcer que la 

langue francaise. 

II est bien bon. 

Cette pomme est bonne. 



Adjectives in -el, -eil, -en, -on double the final con- 
sonant in forming the feminine. 

So do nul, no, and gentil, nice, pleasant. 



5. A fine horse. 
A handsome man. 
A fine animal. 
A beautiful girl. 



Un beau cheval. 
Un bel homme. 
Un bel animal. 
Une belle fille. 



The following adjectives have two masculine 
forms. The second is used only before a vowel 
sound : 



Masc. 






Fem. 




Beau, bel. 






belle, 


handsome, beautiful. 


Fou, fol. 






folle, 


mad, crazy. 


Mou, mol. 






molle, 


soft, yielding. 


Nouveau, nouvel. 






nouvelle, 


new. 


Vieux, vieil (§ 


52, 


3). 


vieille, 


old. 


Vieux may also be used before a vowel sound. 



IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES 85 



EXERCISE 

1. Les gens w oisifs ne sont pas necessairement heureux. 
J'etais malade l'hiver dernier, et par consequent, j'etais con- 
damnee a l'oisivete. J'etais bien malheureuse. 

2. Amelie est paresseuse. C'est_un grand defaut. Quel- 
qu'un a dit que la paresse est la mere de tous les vices. 

3. Les principales puissances europeennes etaient coali- 
sees contre la Chine. 

4. Les Europeens sont blancs. 

5. Nous voulons apprendre les mots francais les plus 
usuels. 

6. Cet homme est d'une nature bien cruelle. 

7. Mangez quelques-unes de ces prunes. Elles sont tres 
bonnes. Elles sont delicieuses. 

8. J'ai eu une aventure pareille a la votre lorsque j'etais 
en Italic 

9. Nul homme n'a jamais mis le pied sur le sommet de 
cette montagne. 

10. J'aime beaucoup Mademoiselle Laurent. Oui, elle 
est tres gentille. 

11. Ce perroquet est un bel oiseau. Eegardez ses plumes. 
Les couleurs sont si belles. 

12. Ce vieux fermier va au marche une fois par semaine 
avec son vieil ane. 

13. Louise, vous etes folle ! Cessez de parler comme 9a. 

14. Le pauvre homme est devenu fou. 

15. Mon frere dit qu'il a trouve un nouyel argument, 
mais son argument n'est pas nouveau. 

16. II a exerce une influence merveilleuse sur les habi- 
tants du pays. 



86 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 



oisif, idle. malade, ill 

un hiver, a ivinter (§ 57, dernier, last. 

2, g)> la puissance, the power. 

par consequent, consequent- coalise*, united, allied. 

ly. apprendre, to learn. 

un defaut, a fault, defect. la prune, the plum. 

contre, against. la plume, the feather (the pen), 

mis, put, set (past partici- une fois, once (one time). 

pie). par semaine, a week (per 
blanc, blanche, white. week). 

le perroquet, the parrot. cesser, to cease, stop. 

le fermier, the farmer. je vais, I go. 

le marche, market. tu vas, thou goest. 

un ane, an ass. il va, he goes. 
le mot, the word. 

Notes. — 1. Nouns that have -te as a suffix are feminine. See § 53, 4. 

5. Le mot is the word taken singly. La parole is the word used 
in connected discourse, thought of as making sense. His word of honor 
sa parole d'honneur. 

9. Notice the use of the article in translating to set foot. 

11. La couleur. Nouns in -eur are feminine, unless designating a 
man. Important exceptions are un honneur, le bonheur, le malheur, 
le labeur. The last means tillage. Labor is le travail. 

Traduisez en frangais les phrases suivantes : 

1. This little boy is active. This little girl is less active 
than her brother. 

2. Louis is happy. Marie is always unhappy. 

3. Your question is not very flattering for us. 

4. Those wild beasts are cruel. 

5. Did you ever see a man like him ? Did you ever hear 
a question like that ? 

6. He spoke Italian. He has studied Italian. He says 
that the Italian language is the easiest of languages. 



IRBEGULAH ADJECTIVES 87 

7. He was a beautiful child. He has beautiful children. 

8. France is a beautiful country. 

9. The colors in that picture are very beautiful. They 
are wonderful. 

10. This pear is delicious. Mine is not ripe. This fruit 
is not good ; it is not ripe. 

11. We wish to learn French. The French language is 
a very beautiful language. French and Italian are beauti- 
ful languages. 

12. You have the most beautiful room in the house. 

13. The old judge and the handsome officer arrived 
here this morning. 

14. This lady is very rich. She is as generous as rich. 

15. Have you visited that famous library? 

16. You have had a very dangerous adventure. 

17. Were our troops victorious ? Are our soldiers vic- 
torious ? 



LESSON XXIV 



1. Meat is dearer than bread. La viande est plus chere que 

le pain. 
Bread is not as dear as Le pain est moins cher que la 

meat. viande. 

This hat seems very light. Ce chapeau semble tres 16ger. 
He fell into the water II est tombe dans l'eau la tete 

head first. la premiere. 

This horse came in first. Ce cheval est arrive le pre- 
mier. 

Adjectives ending in -er change this ending to 
-ere to form the feminine. 

Note. — In cher, amer (bitter), there is no accent, because the r is 
in the same syllable with the e, and an e by the rules of French pro- 
nunciation has the sound e when the consonant after it in the same 
syllable is pronounced. 

7 



88 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



In premier there is no accent, because -er final, when the r is 
silent, is equivalent to e. 

But when e is added to form the feminine, the consonant belongs 
to this final e, and in all French words an e preceding a consonant and 
final e mute always has the open sound, and is written e (sometimes e). 



2. Learn the 


following adjectives : 


MASCULINE. 


FEMININE. 




bref, 


breve, 


brief. 


complet, 


complete, 


complete. 


secret, 


secrete, 


secret. 


muet, 


muette, 


mute, silent, dumb. 


doux, 


douce, 


sweet, soft, gentle. 


faux, 


fausse, 


false. 


sec, 


seche, 


dry. 


blanc, 


blanche, 


white. 


franc, 


franche, 


frank. 


public, 


publique, 


public. 


grec, 


grecque, 


Greek. 


long, 


longue, 


long. 


bas, 


basse, 


low. 


gras, 


grasse, 


fat. 


las, 


lasse, 


weary. 


gros, 


grosse, 


dig. 


benin, 


benigne, 


benign. 


malin, 


maligne, 


cunning, sharp, malicious. 


frais, 


fraiche, 


fresh, cool. 


sot, 


sotte, 


foolish, silly. 


aigu, 


aigue, 


sharp, acute. 


traitre, 


traitresse, 


treacherous. 


favori, 


favorite, 


favorite. 



EXERCISE 

1. Mon pere a beaucoup loue M. Antoine. II a dit que 
les hommes de cette valeur ne sont pas nombreux. 

2. Celles qui ont passe cet^examen n'etaient pas nom- 
breuses. 



IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES 89 

3. Nous avons achete les oeuvres completes d'Alfred de 
Musset. 

4. Comprenez-vous le langage des sourds-muets ? Pas 
du tout. Selon la legende Siegfried comprenait le langage 
des oiseaux. 

5. II a fait un lit de feuilles seches. 

6. Y a-t-il une bibliotheque publique dans cette ville? 
Mais oui, nous sommes tres fiers de notre bibliotheque. 

7. Chaque matin il y avait un bouquet de fleurs fraicbes 
sur la table. 

8. En latin il y a des syllabes longues et des syllabes 
breves. 

9. Dans le mot clef la consonne finale est muette ; dans 
le mot chef, elle est prononcee. Vous avez laisse la cle 
dans la serrure. La serrure est cassee. Y a-t-il un serru- 
rier pres d'ici. 

10. Qui est le commandant en chef de l'armee francaise, 
savez-vous ? 

11. Cette famille qui habite l'appartement en bas parle 
une langue etrangere. * C'est une famille autrichienne, je 
crois. En Autriche on parle plusieurs langues. 

12. D'une voix tres douce le maitre a dit au petit garcon 
d'essayer encore une fois. 

13. II a dit quelques mots a son ami a voix basse, et puis 
il est sorti. 

14. Ces gens sont tres hospitaliers. Nous avons sejourne 
longtemps dans cette maison hospitaliere. Les etrangers 
sont tou jours les bienvenus ici, monsieur. 

15. Le public est admis a toutes les parties du musee. 



90 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 

achet6, bought, casser, to break. 

en bas, below, down-stairs. Stranger, 6trangere, foreign. 

bienvenu (adj.), welcome. essayer, to try. 

encore, again, yet. fier, fiere, proud. 

fait (past part.), made, done, nombreux, nombreuse, nu- 

le lit, the bed. merous. 

selon, according to. une ceuvre, a tvorh. 

le serrurier, the locksmith. la serrure, the loch. 

sojourner, to stay. la valenr, the value. 

L'Autriche (fern.), Austria. 

Notes. — 4, 11. Langue is used of the different languages, French, 
German, etc. Langage would be used in translating beautiful lan- 
guage, the language of flowers, etc. 

11. IStranger : foreign, foreigner. Inconxm: unlmoim, stranger. 

12, 13. D'une voix : Idiom ; In a voice. A voix basse : Idiom ; 
in a low voice. 

12. Encore une fois : once more. Encore un livre : one book 
more, another booh. 

Traduisez en frangais 

1. He is studying Greek. Is the Greek language diffi- 
cult? 

2. Louise is my dearest friend. 

3. He has a light hat. Air is lighter than water. 

4. Have you studied the first lesson ? He does not know 
the first word of his lesson. The last lesson was easier than 
the first. 

5. Life is short. 

6. That letter is silent in that word. 

7. She has a very sweet voice. He has a very strong 
voice. 

8. The news was false. These jewels are false. 

9. The air is cool. This water is not fresh. 

10. Charles is too fat. Your horses are too fat. She is 
not very fat. 



ADVERBS 91 

11. We have a public garden. Where is the public 
library ? 

12. She is always frank. He was always frank. She is 
never frank. She was never frank. 

13. Have you any white silk ? I have bought some 
white lace. This rose is white. These lilies are white. 
Snow is white. Europeans are white. Give me a piece of 
white bread. 

14. The grass was covered with dry leaves fallen from 
the trees. The table was covered with white flowers. 

15. This little boy is my favorite. That is my favorite 
study. 

16. He has very long arms. His hair is too long. My 
hair was too short. This room is very long. 

17. The tide was high. Did you say that the tide was 
low? 

18. There was a secret chamber in the old castle. 

19. We arrived first. My sister arrived first. We fell 
into the water head first. 

20. Madame Gerard is very proud of her son. He has 
passed his examinations. 

21. We have a public library here. We are very proud 
of our museum. 



LESSON XXV 



1. Do not speak so loud. ISTe parlez pas si haut. 

Speak louder. Parlez plus haut. 

Oftenest he stays home. Le plus souvent il reste a la 

maison. 

Adverbs are compared like adjectives. 
Of course le in the superlative of an adverb is 
invariable. 



92 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. Small, smaller, smallest. Petit, plus petit, le plus petit, 

or Petit, moindre, le moindre. 
Bad, worse, worst. Mauvais, plus mauvais, le plus 

mauvais, or Mauvais, pire, 
le pire. 

The adjectives petit and mauvais have both a 
regular and an irregular comparison. 

3. Well, better, best. Bien, mieux, le mieux. 
Badly, worse, worst. Mai, plus mal, le plus mal, or 

Mai, pis, le pis. 
Little, less, least. Peu, moins, le moins. 

Note the irregular comparison. 

4. He answered very po- II a repondu tres poliment. 

litely. 

Many adverbs are formed from adjectives by 
adding the syllable -ment. 



5. 


ADJECTIVE. 




ADVERB. 


fort, 


strong. 




fortement, 


strongly. 


doux, 


sweet, soft, 


gentle. 


doucement, 


gently. 


vif, 


quick. 




vivement, 


quickly. 


sec, 


dry. 




sechement, 


dryly. 


lent, 


slow. 




lentement, 


slowly. 


present, 


present. 




pr6sentement, 


now. 



vehement, vehement. v6h6mentement, vehement. 

Adjectives ending in a consonant usually form 

the adverb by adding ment to the feminine form. 

6. ADJECTIVE. ADVERB. 

vaillant, valiant. vaillamment, valiantly, 

constant, constant. constamment, constantly, 

prudent, prudent. prudemment, prudently (§ 10, 9). 



ADVERBS 03 

Adjectives in -ant, -ent change these endings to 
-amment, -emment. (Except the three mentioned 
under Kule 5.) 

7. Some adverbs are formed irregularly. A few 
are here given : 

aveugle, Hind. aveuglement, Mindly. 

enorme, huge, enormous. enormement, enormously. 

precis, precise, exact. precisement, precisely, exactly. 

gentil, nice, pleasant, gentiment, nicely, pleasantly. 

EXERCISE 

1. II parle tres haut. Vous parlez trop haut. Parlez 
moms haut. Parlez plus bas. 

2. J'ai crie le plus fort que j'ai pu. II a crie le plus 
fort qu'il a pu. 

3. Est-ce qu'il vient ici quelquef ois ? II vient assez rare- 
ment. 

4. Je n'aime pas cet homme, pas le moins du monde. 

5. II a repondu admirablement a toutes mes questions. 

6. Nos troupes ont combattu le plus yaillamment du 
monde. 

7. II agit toujours bien prudemment. La prudence est 
une vertu, mais je trouVe que Leon est meme trop prudent. 

8. C'etait precisement pour voir mon oncle que nous 
etions venus ! Nous regrettons vivement son absence. 

9. II a grandi enormement. 

10. Je chante mal, je chante de plus en plus mal, je 
commence a etre completement decourage. 

11. Allez lentement. Ne tombez pas. 

12. Sa confiance en son ami est telle qu'il suit toujours 
ses conseils aveuglement. 

13. Est-il Francais ? Non, il est Allemand. II est ne 
en Allemagne, mais il a ete eleve en France. II parle 
francais. 



94 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

14. Votre ami a agi bien gentiment envers nous. 

15. Vous dites precisement la meme chose que notre 
professeur. 

16. Vous ecrivez mieux que moi. C'est seulement parce 
que j'ai une meilleure plume. 

17. Louis est paresseux, mais la paresse est le moindre 
de ses defauts. 

VOCABULARY 

agir, to act. l'Allemagne (fern.), Germany. 

bas (adv.), low. crier, to shout, scream. 

envers, tozuard. chanter, to sing. 

fort (adv.), loud, hard. combattre, to fight. 

grandir, to groiv. elever, to raise, to bring up. 

il est n6, he was born. bien elev6, well-bred. 

j'ai pu, I could. seul, seule, alone. 

snivre, to follow. seulement, only. 

je suis, I follow. tel, telle, such. 

il suit, he follows. vif, vive, lively, keen. 

Notes. — 2. Pu is the past participle of pouvoir, to be able, can. 
4, 6. Du monde strengthens a superlative. 

7. Meme, adv., even. Meme, adj., same. 

8. When an infinitive expresses purpose it is preceded by pour. 
13. Le Francais (capital F) means the Frenchman ; le frangais 

(small f) means the French language. So 1/ Anglais, the Englishman ; 
L'Anglaise, the Englishwoman ; La Frangaise, the Frenchwoman ; 
L'Americain, the American ; L'Americaine, the American woman. 

16, 17. Meilleur is an adjective, mieux an adverb. So moindre 
is an adjective and moins is an adverb. 

Traduisez 

1. Always answer politely. A well-bred man always 
answers politely. Well-bred people never speak too loud. 
Your sister does not speak loud enough. 

2. You speak too quickly. Speak more slowly. Do you 
understand your teacher when he speaks French ? 

3. Do you know where he was born ? Was he born in 
Germany or France ? He is a Frenchman. 



THE IMPERFECT TENSE 95 

4. Do you speak German ? Yes, I speak German and 
English. Then you don't speak French ? No, I am study- 
ing French now. 

5. Have you ever studied Spanish ? Yes. Does Span- 
ish resemble French ? Yes. . Spanish is easy for a French- 
man, much easier than German. 

6. John is growing enormously, isn't he ? Yes, he has 
grown very much. He has become very tall. 

7. Where were those children brought up? They are 
well brought up, aren't they ? 

8. Poor Louis ! He sings worse and worse. His teacher 
is completely discouraged. 

9. Begin slowly, then go faster. 

10. It was especially to see your friend that I came. I 
deeply regret his absence. 

11. My confidence in my friend is such that I always 
follow his advice — too blindly, perhaps. 

12. Americans speak English. That lady is an Amer- 
ican ; she is not an Englishwoman. 

13. We shouted as loud as we could. 

14. Answer my question. I answered his questions the 
best I could. He answered very prudently. 

Note. — 4. To study French is etudier le frangais. 



LESSON XXVI 

1. Imperfect Indicative of the three conjugations : 

je portais, je finissais, je rendais, 

tu portais, tu finissais, tu rendais, 

il portait, il finissait, il rendait, 

nous portions, nous finissions, nous rendions, 

vous portiez, vous finissiez, vous rendiez, 

ils portaient. ils finissaient. ils rendaient. 



96 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

a. The Imperfect Indicative is formed by changing the 
ending -ant of the present participle into 



ait, 



-aient. 
portant, je portais, etc. 
finissant, je finissais, etc. 
rendant, je rendais, etc. 

b. The Meaning of the Imperfect Tense. 

This tense expresses two things : 

1. An unfinished action, in past time. 

Examples : I was carrying the glass when he pushed me. 
The painter was finishing the picture when we came in. 

2. A continuous, customary, or repeated action, in past 
time. 

Example : The peasants used to carry their corn to the mill. 

2. Use the Past Indefinite to answer the question, 
What happened? and use the Imperfect to answer 

the question, What was happening at the time ? or, 
What used to happen ? 

The battle ivas still going La bataille durait encore an 

on at sunset. coucher du soleil. 

The battle lasted five La bataille a dure" cinq heures. 

hours. 

John was talking to the Jean parlait au jardinier 

gardener when I came quand je suis rentre\ 

in. 

3. He sings well. II chante bien. 

He sang that piece well. II a bien chante ce morceau. 



PLACE OF ADVERBS 97 

a. Adverbs are placed after the verb. 
h. In the compound tenses the commoner adverbs are 
placed after the auxiliary and before the participle. 

4. He arrived yesterday. II est arrive hier (two sylla- 

bles). 
He placed the chair II a place la chaise Ik. 

there. 
He has not been here. II n'a pas ete ici. 

Note that hier, aujourd'hui, ici, and la are never 
placed before the past participle. 

EXERCISE 
Lisez et traduisez en anglais Us phrases suivantes : 

1. Autrefois nous^allions chaque annee a la campagne. 
Mon pere jouissait beaucoup clu calme, et nous^autres^en- 
fants, nous jouions^en plein^air toute la journee. Nous 
cherchions des fleurs dans les bois, nous regardions les hom- 
ines qui travaillaient dans les champs, nous donnions^a 
manger aux poules, nous montions^d cheval. Nous^ai- 
mions beaucoup la campagne. 

2. J'attendais mon frere a la gare ce matin, lorsque vous 
etes venu. Le train est arrive mais mon frere n'etait pas 
la-dedans. Maintenant j 'attends une depeche. 

3. Je finissais une lettre pour vous quand vous etes 
entre. 

4. Nous avons visite l'atelier de ce peintre la semaine 
derniere. II finissait un grand tableau. II a fini ce tableau 
aujourd'hui. 

5. Ma pauvre sceur est souvent malade. Autrefois lors- 
que nous habitions la campagne elle jouissait d'une bonne 
sante. Elle n'avait jamais la moindre indisposition. Nous 
retournons au meme endroit l'ete prochain. 

6. Nous ecoutions les paroles du maitre bien attentive- 
ment. Ecoutez ce monsieur, il parle bien, n'est-ce pas ? 



98 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. Ce jeune homme n'ecoutait jamais les conseils de son 
pere. Maintenant il regrette sa mauvaise conduite. 

VOCABULARY 

lisez, read. un 6t6, a summer. 

le champ, the field. jouir, to enjoy. 

la-dedans, in it, therein. une ann6e, a year. 

le peintre, the painter. une joum6e, a day. 

un atelier, a ivorkshop, une matin6e, a morning. 

studio. 6couter, to listen to. 

le bois, the wood, autrefois, formerly. 

un endroit, a place, spot. plein, pleine, full. 

prochain, ) la poule, the hen. 

prochaine, f ' &' la depeche, the telegram, de- 

monter a cheval, to ride spatch. 

horseback. la sant6, health. 

Notes. — 1. Besides an, jour, matin, soir, the French language has 
the feminine nouns annee, journee, matinee, soiree. These femi- 
nine nouns usually denote a period of time conceived of as having a 
certain duration. During the year is pendant V annee ; to spend the 
morning, passer la matinee. 

Be careful to distinguish jouer and jouir. 

Jouir does not have a direct object like the English enjoy. It is 
followed by the preposition de. 

Nous autres enfants. Autres is added to nous and vous to mark 
a contrast. You Germans, Vous autres Allemands. We French, Nous 
autres Francais. 

1, 2, 6, 7. In translating to look for, to wait for, to listen to, to look 
at, remember to omit the preposition. Chercher, attendre, ecouter, re- 
garder, require direct objects. 

For Translation 
1. We choose, we chose, we were choosing. 2. They 
speak, they are speaking, they were speaking. 3. He is 
looking for a friend. 4. He was looking for a pencil. 5. 
Go look for your pen. 6. Are yon waiting for the train ? 
Did you wait for the train ? 7. Look at Louis ! 8. We 



THE PARTITIVE NOUN 99 

were looking at the animals. 9. Listen to that bird ! 10. 
We were listening to the birds. 11. We listened to the 
teacher. 12. Go play. 13. We were playing with the chil- 
dren. 14. He used to sell books. 15. Have you fed the 
chickens ? 16. The children were playing in the open air. 
17. We used to go horseback riding when we were in the 
country. 18. She enjoys good health. 19. She used to 
enjoy good health. 20. We enjoy the quiet. 21. The 
men were working in the fields. 22. He often punished 
the pupils. 23. We used to live in the country. 24. I 
used to look for flowers in the wood. 



LESSON XXVII 



1. What book did yon read ? Quel livre avez-vous lu ? 
Which pen is yours ? Quelle plume est la votre ? 
What reasons have they? Quelles raisons ont-ils ? 

The Interrogative Adjective which or what is 
expressed by quel. 

2. Forms of the Adjective quel. 

Singular. Plural. 

Masc. quel. quels. 

Fern, quelle. quelles. 

3. What a man ! Quel homme ! 
What a night ! Quelle nuit ! 

Quel is never followed by an article. 

4. He has no money. II n'a pas d'argent. 
He hasn't any friends. II n'a pas d'amis. 

You have no more bread. Vous n'avez plus de pain. 

The Partitive noun after a general negation is 
preceded by the preposition de. 

L.ofC. 



100 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. Examples of three cases of Partitive noun : 

a. He has friends. II a des amis. 

h. He has good friends. II a de bons amis. 

c. He lias no friends. II n'a pas d'amis. 

Notice that he has no friends, lie has not any 
friends, or the more colloquial lie hasnH any 
friends, are all rendered by il n'a pas d'amis. 

EXERCISE 

1. II y a an vers de La Fontaine qui dit : 

La raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure. 

Quel proyerbe sayez-vous en_anglais qui rend tres bien 
ce vers ? 

2. Quel bomme yous_etes ! Pourquoi n'etes-yous pas 
la-bas ayec les^autres ? 

3. Nous allons enfin dejeuner. Quel bonheur ! 

4. J'admire beaucoup cet auteur. Quelle prof ondeur ! 
quelle puissance d'expression ! 

5. Quelle nuit noire ! II n'y a pas de lime, il n'y a pas 
meme une etoile. 

6. Vous ne voulez pas de commerce ayec mi ? Mais 
dites-moi, quelles sont done vos raisons ? 

7. Quelles cbambres sont les meilleures? Celles qui don- 
nent vers le nord sont les plus grandes, mais, naturellement, 
il n'y a pas de soleil. 

8. De quel pays est cette jeune paysanne ? Elle yient 
du midi de la France. II n'y a pas deux mois qu'elle est 
arrivee ici. 

9. Xous n'avons pas pu trouyer de voiture. Xous som- 
mes done alles a pied jusqu'a la station du cbemin de fer. 

10. Jean dit qu'il n'a jamais yu de paon. N'y a-t-il pas 
de paon dans le pare ici? 

11. H n'y avait plus de place dans la yoiture. 



THE PARTITIVE NOUN 101 

VOCABULARY 

le vers, the verse. le commerce, intercourse, 
le bonheur, the happiness, commerce, 

luck. enfin, at last. 

le midi, the south. la profondeur, the depth. 

le paysan, the peasant. la puissance, the poiver. 

un auteur, an author. la paysanne, the peasant-girl, 
vers, toivard. the peasant woman. 

le mois, the month. le paon, the peacock (§ 15, 9). 

jusqu'a, as far as. le chemin de fer, the railivay. 

Notes. — By general negation in Rule 4 is meant that the object in 
question does not exist at the time and place mentioned. 

Je n'ai pas de vin means I have no wine whatever. But I have 
no more of this year's wine is translated je rial plus du vin de cette 
annee. 

They are not snakes. Ce ne sont pas des serpents. 

There are no snakes here. II n'y a pas de serpents ici. 

7. Notice the idiomatic use of donner. Vers has a physical sense ; 
envers a moral sense. He came toward me, vers moi. He was char- 
itable toward me, envers moi. 

For Translation 

1. What proverbs do you know? Tell ns a French prov- 
erb. Do you know a French proverb ? No, I don't know 
any French proverb. 

2. There is no room in the carriage, so we are going on 
foot. There never is any room for us ! 

3. Which apple is the best ? Which apples are the best ? 
What a beautiful apple ! Have you any apples ? Have you 
no apples ? 

4. What country is that peasant from? I don't even 
know what language he speaks. 

5. Which copy-book did you take ? I didn't take any 
copy-book. I took a few pieces of paper. 

6. In which room did you leave your hats ? We hadn't 
any hats. 



102 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. Has he no friends ? Has he no father ? Haven't you 
any money? Haven't they any more bread? 

8. We had friends. We had no friends. We had good 
friends. 

9. What a fine horse ! What fine horses they have ! 

10. Have you that author's complete works ? Which 
books have you here ? 

11. What is the depth of the water here ? 

12. John found some money in the street yesterday. I 
have never found any money. 



LESSON XXVIII 



1. Do you see anything on Voyez-vous quelque chose a 

the horizon ? l'horizon ? 

I do not see anything. Je ne vois rien. 

Do you know any one in Connaissez-vous quelqu'un a 

New York? New York? 

We do not know any one Nous ne connaissons personne 

in New York. a New York ? 

Nobody came. Personne n'est venu. 

a. Nothing is expressed by rien ; the verb is preceded 
by ne. 

b. Nobody is expressed by personne ; the verb is pre- 
ceded by ne. 

Note. — Pas must not be used with these words. 

2. It was something enor- C'etait quelque chose d'e- 

mous. norme. 

Give me something good Donnez-moi quelque chose de 

to eat. bon a manger. 

There is nothing useful II n'y a rien d'utile dans ce 

in that book. livre. 



THE PAST DEFINITE 103 

An adjective used after quelque chose or rien is 
preceded by the preposition de. This adjective is 
always masculine singular. 

3. I see nothing. Je ne vois rien. 
I saw nothing. Je n'ai rien vu. 

I saw nobody. Je n'ai vu personne. 

Rien is usually placed before the past participle 
in a compound tense. Personne does not have this 
position. 

4. Past Definite of the Three Conjugations : 

je portai, je finis, je rendis, 

tu portas, tu finis, tu rendis, 

il porta, il finit, il rendit, 

nous portames, nous finimes, nous rendimes, 

vous portates, vous finites, vous rendites, 

ils porterent. ils finirent. ils rendirent. 

a. This tense is not used in ordinary conversation. 

b. It is used in the historical style, in story-telling, in 
narrative of any sort. 

c. It is used to state what happened at a definite time 
mentioned or clearly understood. 

d. Hence the narrative style employs the Past Definite 
for the successive events of the story. (The Imperfect, in 
the narrative style, is used for all descriptions, and for con- 
tinuous or repeated actions.) 

EXERCISE 

1. II allait rapporter de la viande et du vin. II n'a rien 
rapporte du tout, de sorte que nous n'avons rien^eu a 
manger. 

2. Ne dites rien. Avez-vous deja dit quelque chose ? 
Je n'ai rien dit. 

8 



104 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. Quelle jolie epingle vous avez ! Je n'ai jamais rien 
vu de si joli. 

4. N'avez-vous pas de meilleur drap que celui-ci ? Nous 
n'avous rien de meilleur, madame. II n'y a pas de meilleur 
drap. 

5. Nous avous attendu lougtemps ; personne n'est venu. 

6. Pour defendre le pays contre Finvasion la Hollande 
rompit ses digues. 

7. Hannibal battit les Eomains a Cannes. 

8. Nous arrivames vers le soir. Nous quittames la ville 
le lendemain matin. 

9. Au commencement Dieu crea le ciel et la terre. 

10. Le prince de Conde passa a travers le pays ennemi. 

11. J'achetai deux belles mules et le lendemain je partis 
de Burgos avant Faurore pour aller a Madrid. Nous des- 
cendimes a une hotellerie. Je laissai le soin des mules a 
mon valet et je montai dans une chambre. 

VOCABULARY 

rapporter, to bring lack. de sorte que, so that. 

le drap, the cloth. une 6pingle, a pin. 

battre, to beat. la digue, the dike. 

Cannes, Cannai. a travers, through. 

le lendemain, the next day. Faurore (f.), the dawn. 
le soin, the care. 

Note. — The last six sentences are from narratives. 

For Translation 

1. You never saw anything so beautiful. I never heard 
anything so terrible. He says he never ate anything so 
good. 

2. Do you hear that voice ? I don't hear anything. Is 
your friend deaf ? Yes, he hears badly. 

3. Did he say anything ? He didn't say anything. Did 
you see anybody? We didn't see anybody. Nobody was 



NEGATION 105 

there. There was nobody in the room. Wasn't there any- 
body? 

4. I am looking for something pretty for my mother. I 
have found something very pretty. 

5. Have yon read that story? (cette histoire.) Yes, I 
do not find anything remarkable in that story. 

6. Have you been to the station ? No, I do not expect 
any one to-day. Were you not expecting your friend ? No, 
I received a dispatch yesterday. 

7. I was copying my exercises when you came in. I was 
going to copy my exercises when my friends came in. 

8. We French are very fond of our country. 

9. Are you going to the country next summer? Are 
you going back to the same place where you were last sum- 
mer ? It is likely. 

In Narrative Style 

10. Hannibal crossed the Alps. 

11. I gave some money to the poor man. 

12. He sought his friend a long time ; he found no one. 

13. The battle lasted two days. 

14. Yes, answered he. No, answered they. 

15. The soldiers brought back some bread and wine. 



LESSON XXIX 



1. I have only three francs. Je n'ai que trois francs. 

The orator spoke but L'orateur ne parla qu'une f ois. 

once. 

You have, only to try. Vous n'avez qu'a essayer. 

Only, and but in the sense of only, are expressed 
by ne before the verb and que after it. 

Note. — Que here was originally the que meaning than ; " I have no 
more than three," " I have nothing else than" etc. 



106 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. He lias neither father nor II n'a ni pere ni mere. 

mother. 
Neither John nor Henry Ni Jean ni Henri n'etaient la. 
was there. 

Neither, nor, are translated by ni, ni, and the 
verb is preceded by ne. 

3. He neither praises nor II ne loue ni ne blame son 

blames his brother. frere. 

When verbs are connected by neither, nor, each 
verb in French is preceded by ne, and ni connects 
the verbs. 

4. I have pens and ink. J'ai des plumes et de l'encre. 
I have neither pens nor Je n'ai ni plumes ni encre. 

ink. 

The partitive article is omitted after ni. 

EXERCISE 
1. Cela n'a ni queue ni tete. 2. La nouvelle a semble 
non seulement penible mais etonnante. 3. Aucune nou- 
velle n'est arrivee. 4. Le medecin examina chaque homme, 
aucun n'etait gueri. 5. Ce pauvre garcon n'a plus que son 
frere au monde. 6. A partir de ce jour il n'a jamais plus 
chante cette chanson. 7. Elle n'a pas invite Mme. Laurent. 
C'est vrai. Elle n'a pas invite sa niece non plus. 8. Ce 
jeune homme ne resjoecte personne, pas meme son pere. 

9. Yotre frere est-il revenu? II n'est pas encore revenu. 

10. Je ne vous guere quelle difference il y a. 11. Charles 
n'a pas danse, ni Louis non plus. Xe dansent-ils done 
jamais? lis ne chantent ni ne dansent. 12. II n'a qu'a 
dire un mot. 13. J'attendis une semaine. Pas de reponse. 
14. Louis ne vient plus ici. Jamais un mot, jamais une 
visite. 15. Etes-vous fache ? Pas le moins du monde. 16. 
Eegardez la mer; rien que de l'eau. 17. N'avez-vous pas 
de bonne encre ? Je n'ai que cette encre-la. 



NEGATION 10Y 

VOCABULARY 

cela, that. la r6ponse, the answer. 

sembler, to seem. p6nible, painful. 

dire, to say. 6tonnant, astonishing. 

fach6, angry. aucun, any, no. 

vrai, true. non seulement, not only. 

gu6rir, to cure. la chanson, the song. 
la queue, the tail. 

Notes. — 6. A partir de ce jour. From that day on. 
7. Non plus. Either, after a negation, is expressed by non plus. 
13, 14, 15, 16. In these sentences notice the omission of the verb, 
which is readily understood, along with the ne accompanying it. 

For Translation 

1. I see only the head and the tail of the animal. 

2. Henry is intelligent. He is not only intelligent : he 
is kind (don). 

3. We have received no news — not a word. We have re- 
ceived no news yet — nothing. Xo letter has come. 

4. Yon have only to read the letter. They have only to 
close the window if they do not like the draught. 

5. She has no one left hut her father. I have only two 
books left. This little boy has only one sou left. 

6. From that day on he remained here. 

7. Have you no money ? I have no money either. What 
a misfortune ! 

8. That boy is terribly lazy. He neither studies nor 
works. He does not enjoy anything either. 

9. I have no more bread. What, no more bread ! 

10. He has neither brothers nor sisters. 

11. That has neither beginning nor end. 

12. I spoke only once. He spoke only twice. 

13. I see only the sky and the water. 

14. Do you sing ? I neither sing nor play. 

15. Have your friends come back ? They have not come 
back yet. 



108 FIRST FKENCH BOOK 

LESSON XXX 

1. Past Definite of avoir ; Past Definite of etre : 

j'eus (§ 22, 8), je fus, 

tu eus, tu fus, 

il eut, il fut, 

nous eumes, nous fumes, 

vous elites, vous futes, 

ils eurent. ils furent. 

il y eut, there was. 

In translating avoir in this tense, since it ex- 
presses what happened, some other verb than to 
have must generally be used in English. 

He had a son is in French il avait unfits. 

II eut un fils means that a son was horn to him. 

Nous eumes la nouvelle a notre a/rrivee means we 
got, or received, or heard the news on our arrival. 

So the Past Definite of etre is often found in 
Passive Verbs. 

He was in Paris. II etait a Paris. 

He was taken to Paris. II fut transports a Paris. 

2. He gave his books to II a donne ses livres a des 

some friends. amis. 

He came with friends. II est venu avec des amis. 

But 

He remained without II est reste sans amis. 

friends. 
He was surrounded by II etait entoure d'amis. 

friends. 

The partitive article is not expressed after the 
prepositions de or sans. 



ADVERBS OF QUANTITY 



109 



He has many friends. 
He has a lot of money. 
We have time enough. 
You have more time than 

we. 
I have too many things 

to do. 



II a beaucoup d'amis. 
II a beaucoup d'argent. 
Nous avous assez de temps. 
Vous avez plus de temps que 

nous. 
J'ai trop de choses a faire. 



a. The English adjectives of quantity are, most of them, 
expressed in French by adverbs of quantity. 

b. In French the adverb of quantity requires the prepo- 
sition de before the noun determined. 

Note. — The adverb here really becomes a noun of quantity. 

The most important adverbs of quantity are : 

autant, as many, as much. 

assez, enough. 

bien, many. 

peu, few, little. 

combien, how many. 

moins, less, fewer. 

trop, too much, too many. 

beaucoup, many. 

plus, more. 

tant, so many, so much. 

Cautions. — a. Enough often goes after the noun in 
English. Not so in French : Bread enough, assez de pain. 

b. peu must not be confused with petit. 

A little money, un peu d'argent. 

A little boy, un petit garcon. 

Peu refers to quantity, petit to size. 

c. TJn peu is always masculine. 

d. So much is tant ; hence, never say si beaucoup. 

e. Tres beaucoup is never said in French, but merely 
beaucoup. 



110 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Many times, bien des fois. 
Many difficulties, bien des difficultes. 
Many others, bien d'autres. 

Bien differs from the other adverbs of quantity 
in requiring de -\- the article before the noun. Be- 
fore the adjective de alone is used. 

5. A kilogramme of butter. Un kilogramme de beurre. 

(Familiarly, un kilo.) 
A litre of water. Un litre d'eau. 

The noun of quantity also requires de, just as in 
English it requires of. 

Caution. — Dozen and half-dozen in English usually 
omit Rafter them. But in French de must be expressed 
after douzaine and demi-douzaine. 

A dozen eggs. line douzaine d'ceufs. 

Half a dozen handkerchiefs. Une demi-douzaine de mou- 

choirs. 

EXERCISE 

1. On dit qu'il a perdu beaucoup d'argent, et cela tout 
recemment. (hi done a-t-il depense tant d'argent ? On ne 
sait pas. II a ete tres imprudent, e'est certain. 

2. Blanche a un collier superbe. II y a autant de perles 
que de diamants. Son pere est alle a Paris il y a quelques 
jours et vous savez qu'il ne revient jamais de Paris sans 
apporter des cadeaux. Je pense qu'il donne meme trop de 
cadeaux a ses filles. Elles sont tout a fait gatees. 

3. Yous avez beaucoup plus d'esprit que moi. Ne dites 
pas cela, je vous prie. Pourquoi pas, si e'est yrai ? 

4. Voulez-vous un peu de sel ? Non, merci. Prenez 
un peu plus de ce roti. Mais oui, volontiers. II est bon, 
n'est-ce pas ? Mangez moins de beurre, mon enfant. 



ADVERBS OF QUANTITY 111 

5. Vous avez vraiment trop peu d'energie. Comment 
voulez-vous reussir si vous n'avez pas plus de courage ? 

6. J'ai plus d'amis que d'ennemis. Mais j'espere que 
vous n'avez pas d'ennemis. Un homme comme vons n'a 
que des amis ; j'en suis sur. 

7. Son pere mort, le pauvre gallon resta sans appui. 
D'abord il eut un moment d'abattement, il fut bien triste 
pendant quelque temps. Cela dura peu. Un jeune homme 
a toujours assez de courage et d'energie pour faire son che- 
min seul. 

8. II y eut un moment de silence. 

VOCABULARY 

tout (adverb), quite. l'esprit (m.), wit, mind, intel- 

le collier, the necklace. ligence. 

le diamant, the diamond. depenser, to spend. 

tout a fait, wholly, alto- la perle, the pearl. 

gether, quite. je vous prie, / leg you. 

le sel, the salt. volontiers, willingly. 

le roti, the roast. reussir, to succeed. 

j'en suis sur, lam sure of it. j'espere, I hope. 

un appui, a support. d'abord, at first. 

l'abattement (m.), down- faire, to make. 

Jieartedness. vrai, true. 

Notes. — 1. On is an indefinite pronoun meaning one, people. Bet- 
ter translate by a passive : It is said. 

2. As many as. The second as is que. 

5. Voulez-vous is often used like the English do you expect. 

7. Peu with a verb of time means a little while, not very long. 
Observe the preposition pour before the infinitive after assez. 

8. Silence is masculine. All other nouns in -ence and those in 
-ance are feminine. 



112 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

LESSON XXXI 
REVIEW 

1. He does not enjoy anything. I enjoy everything. 
They did not enjoy anything. 

2. The table was covered with flowers. There were more 
roses than anything else. How do you say tJiorn in French ? 
A thorn is une epine. lN"ow say in French, " Xever a rose 
without thorns." 

3. Louis says he has too many things to do. He has lit- 
tle energy. He has but little energy. He has not enough 
energy to succeed alone. 

4. You eat a good deal too much butter. 

5. How many children have you ? I have one son. 

6. There are more chairs than tables in this room. 
There are as many pens as pencils in this box. 

7. He has been to Paris many times. Do you know the 
difference between (entre) le temps and la fois? How do 
you say " Time is precious " ? Translate, " "We have time 
enough." Say in French, " He came back the first time." 

8. He sang once. He spoke twice. He spoke many 
times. He was talking all the time. 

9. I like your friend very much. 

10. These people are rich. They have very many 
friends. 

11. Take a little milk. Do you want a little piece of 
meat? 

12. Have you roses enough to make a little bouquet for 
your aunt ? 

13. That little boy is happy ; he has so many toys ! 

11. I have a dozen pens here. Choose the best ones. 

{Ones is not expressed in French here.) 

15. He succeeded after many difficulties. After that 
we had no more difficulty. He got out without difficulty. 



INTERROGATION 113 

16. Joseph has few friends ; I don't know why. He is 
too bashful, perhaps. 

17. You have fewer enemies than friends. 

18. The silence was broken by my brother's voice. 

19. There are half a dozen handkerchiefs in that drawer. 



LESSON XXXII 



1. Present Indicative of Porter 
Interrogatively Negatively and Interrogatively 

port6-je? do I carry f am I ne port6-je pas? do I not 
carrying ? carry ? 

portes-tu? ne portes-tu pas? 

porte-t-il ? ne porte-t-il pas ? 

porte-t-elle ? ne porte-t-elle pas? 

portons-nous ? ne portons-nous pas ? 

portez-vous ? ne portez-vous pas ? 

portent-ils ? ne portent-ils pas ? 

Note the accent in port6-je? This occurs for the sake of 
euphony. See § 11, 1 and 8. 

Generally, est-ce que je porte? is said instead of port6-je? 

2. How many times have you Combien de fois avez-vous 

been there ? ete la ? 

How much snow there was ! Que de neige il y avait ! 

How much, How many, are expressed by que de 
in exclamations. 

3. We pay that man four times Nous payons cet homme 

as much as he earns. quatre fois plus qu'il ne 

gagne. 
He writes better than he H ecrit mieux qu'il ne parle. 
speaks. 

Ne is placed before the verb in the second term 
of a comparison. 



114 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Everything is dear here. Tout est cher ici. 
We saw everything. Nous avons tout vu. 

The pronoun tout, when it is the object of a verb, 
is usually placed between the parts of a compound 
tense. 

5. That man is the least strong Cet homme est le moins fort 

of all. de tous. 

All perished. Tous ont peri. 

They all perished. lis ont tous peri. 

The s of the pronoun tous is always pronounced. 
We call tous a pronoun when it is not followed 
by a noun to which it relates. 

6. All the bread. Tout le pain. 
The whole house. Toute la maison. 
A whole army. Toute une armee. 

The adjective tout is always placed before the 
article, never after it. 

7. The whole is greater than Le tout est plus grand qu'au- 

any of its parts. cune de ses parties. 

Here le tout is a noun. 

8. Toutle monde, everybody. Tous les jours, every clay. 
Toutes les se- every week. Tous les mois, every month. 

maines, Toutes les fois, every time. 

Tous les ans, every year. 

Toute la jour- all day Toute la ma- all the morn- 
nee, long. tinee, ing. 
Toute la soiree, all the even- Toute l'annee, all the year 
ing. through. 

Tousles deux, j , , Toutes les deux every two 

Tous deux, [ heures, hours. 



USES OF THE WORD TOUT 115 

EXERCISE 

1. Cette nouvelle a surpris tout le monde, Kobert plus 
que personne. 

2. Toutes ses lettres restaient sans reponse. Elle deve- 
nait plus_inquiete tous les jours. 

3. Votre soeur n'aime-t-elle pas la musique ? Elle aime 
le chant, mais elle n'aime pas beaucoup le piano. Ses amis 
pensent comme elle qu'elle cliante beaucoup mieux qu'elle 
ne joue. 

4. Tout le monde etait sur pied avant le lever du soleil. 
Nous sommes repartis aussitot. 

5. Que de fleurs il y a ici ! N'est-ce pas ? Tous les matins 
nous avons de grands bouquets a table. 

6. Ne donnez pas votre montre a cet enfant ; il casse 
tout. 

7. Comment savez-vous que le mot armee est feminin? 
Parce que j'ai vu l'expression, toute une armee. 

8. Nous sommes restes en France toute une annee, de 
sorte que nous avons tous appris un pen de francais. Je 
comprends presque tout maintenant, je comprends beau- 
coup mieux que je ne parle. 

9. J'ai tout vu de mes propres yeux, j'ai tout entendu. 

10. Le matin nous prenons le cafe au lait, tous excepte 
ma mere qui prend le chocolat. Est-ce que vous dinez le 
soir ou a midi? Nous dinons le soir; mon pere aime a 
voir toute la famille autour de lui a l'heure du diner. 

11. Louis et Francois ou sont-ils? lis sont ici tous les 
deux. 

12. Que de fois j'ai regrette d'etre parti! 

13. Votre soeur ne chante-t-elle pas? Si, mais ce soir 
elle dit qu'elle est enrhumee. 

14. Louis n'a pas apporte son cahier. Mais si ; voila son 
cahier sur la chaise. 

15. Toutes les fois que j'ai traverse la Manche j'ai eu le 
mal de mer. 



116 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 

inquiet, inquire, uneasy, penser, to think. 

anxious. aussitot, immediately. 

le lever du soleil, sunrise. la montre, the watch. 

appris (past part,), learned, etre enrhum6, to have a cold. 

propre, own. la Manche, the English Chan- 
midi (masc), noon. nel. 

le mal de mer, sea-sickness, si, yes. 

Notes. — 10. In the evening is le soir, without a preposition. 

12. Regretter requires de before the infinitive it governs. 

13, 14. Si is used for yes in reply to a negative question or to con- 
tradict a negative statement. 

For Translation 

1. Does that tree bear fruit all the year? No; don't 

you know that there are no trees that bear fruit all the 

year ? 

(Translate fruit by the plural. To hear is porter.) 

2. Does he blame his brother? Doesn't your mother 
blame his conduct ? 

3. Doesn't John earn enough money ? How much money 
does he earn ? 

4. Don't I speak better than I spoke last year? Yes, 
you speak much better. 

5. We were all surprised, my brother more than any one. 

6. All my letters remain unanswered. I am very anx- 
ious. I do not like to be without news. 

7. My professor says that I have not much voice. I 
play better than I sing, so that now I do not sing any 
more, but I practise at the piano several hours every 
morning. 

8. That little boy breaks everything. He has broken 
all his toys. 

9. We saw everything, we heard everything. 

10. I have not bought anything. 



NUMERALS 117 

11. All the boys were present except Louis. And where 
was Louis ? I don't know. Louis is very unfortunate. 
Every time that M. Lebrun has invited the boys to go for 
a walk in the woods Louis has been absent. 

12. When we were in the country we always dined at 
noon. Here we dine in the evening. 

13. There Avere three of us (ive ivere three) yesterday in 
the boat, and we all three fell into the water. 

11. Do you regret having gone away ? Yes, many times 
I have regretted having left my aunt's house. 

15. The professor comes here every three days. 

16. Almost everybody likes flowers. Everybody seems 
to be happy here. 

17. See the snow ! How much snow there is ! There 
was not so much snow last year. Oh, yes, there was more 
snow last year. 

18. The family occupies (habite) a whole house. In 
Paris the families that occupy a whole house are not nu- 
merous. Usually each family occupies only an apartment. 



LESSOR XXXIII 
1. THE CARDINAL NUMBERS. (Les nombres cardinaux.) 



1 un, une. 


11 onze. 


2 deux. 


12 douze. 


3 trois. 


13 treize. 


4 quatre. 


14 quatorze. 


5 cinq (q sounded). 


15 quinze. 


6 six (x like s) . 


16 seize. 


7 sept (p silent, t sounded). 


17 dix-sept (x like s). 


8 huit (t sounded). 


18 dix-huit (x like z). 


9 neuf (/ sounded). 


19 dix-neuf (x like z). 


10 dix (x like s). 


20 vingt (gt silent). 



118 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



PRONUNCIATION 

The pronunciation of the numbers requires attention. 

a. The x of deux is silent before a consonant or aspirate h. 

deux fois, twice. 

deux hiboux, two owls. 
It is joined to the next word with the sound of z before a vowel 
sound. 

deux etres, two beings. 

deux hommes, two men. 
The same applies to the s of trois. 

b. The q of cinq is pronounced unless it multiplies the following 

word. 
cinq et cinq font dix, five and five make ten. 
The q is also pronounced before a vowel. 

cinq animaux. 
But it is silent when it precedes a word it multiplies beginning 
with a consonant, as in 
cinq fois, five times, cinq cents, five hundred. 

c. Six and dix follow the same rules. 

When they do not multiply the next word the x in each sounds 
like s unvoiced. 
Six et dix font seize. 
When preceding the word they multiply, the x is silent if that 
word begins with a consonant. 
Six fois, dix livres. 
When preceding the word they multiply, the x has the sound of 
z if that word begins with a vowel sound. 
Six hommes, dix oranges. 

d. In sept and huit the t sounds when they do not multiply the 

next word. 
Huit sont morts, eight died. 

Sept est la moitie de quatorze, seven is half of fourteen. 
When preceding the word they multiply, the t is silent if that 
word begins with a consonant. 
sept fusils, seven guns (Is silent). Many pronounce the t here. 
huit mois, eight months. 
Before a vowel sound the t of each always sounds. 
huit arbres, sept ans. 



NUMERALS 119 

e. Neuf is treated like six and dix. The / is normally pronounced ; 
it is silent before the word it multiplies if that word begins 
with a consonant, and when the word begins with a vowel 
it has the sound of v. 

Neuf sont arrives, nine arrived (/sounds). 

J'ai neuf crayons, I have nine pencils (f silent). 

II est reste la neuf ans, He stayed there nine years (f like v). 

2. What time is it ? Quelle heure est-il ? 
It is one o'clock. II est une heure. 

Here it is is an impersonal verb, so we say il est. 

It is two o'clock. II est deux heures. 

It is four o'clock. II est quatre heures. 

But 

It is twelve o'clock. II est midi, ) ( not douze 

It is twelve o'clock. II est minuit, f heures). 

3. Midi (masc.^) means noon, midday, 
Minuit (masc.) means midnight 

4. It is quarter past one. II est une heure et quart. 
It is half past three. II est trois heures et demie. 

The adjective demi Las the feminine form here. 

It is twenty minutes past II est cinq heures et vingt 
five. minutes, or 

II est cinq heures vingt. 
It is five minutes to six. II est six heures moins cinq 

minutes, or 
II est six heures moins cinq. 

EXERCISE 

1. Le train est_en retard. D 'ordinaire il w arrive a 
cinq^heures et quart, il_est maintenant cinq heures vingt- 
cinq. Le train est donc_en retard de dix minutes. 

2. II est tres tard, n'est-ce pas ? Mais non, il n'est que 
dix heures. A quelle heure comptez-vous sortir ? Dans^un 

quart d'heure au plus tard. J'attends la malle. 
9 



120 FIRST FEENCH BOOK 

3. Sayez-vous le numero de la maison ? C'est le numero 
13, je crois. Vous n'etes-pas superstitieux ? Mais pas du 
tout. Bien des fois nous avons ete treize a table et per- 
sonne n'est mort dans Tannee. 

4. Le bateau a sombre en pleine mer. La plupart des 
passagers ont ete sauves. Est-ce qu'on donne les chifTres ? 
]\ T on. On ne sait pas au juste combien ont peri. lis sont 
au moins yingt. 

5. II etait minuit et demie lorsque nous sommes ren- 
tres. La piece etait trop longue. On ayait commence 
trop tard. 

6. Combien de temps ayez-yous attendu yotre frere ? 
Trois quarts d'heure. II etait alors six heures moins 
yingt. 

7. Quand il est midi aux Etats-Unis il est minuit en 
Chine. C'est curieux, n'est-ce pas ? Sayez-yous pourquoi ? 

8. Comptez en francais de un jusqu'a vingt. 

9. L'hexagone a six angles et six cotes. 
Deux, quatre, six, sont des nombres pairs. 
Trois, cinq, sept, sont des nombres impairs. 

VOCABULARY 

en retard, late. comptez, to expect, to count 
tard, late. (§ 55, 3). 

le chiffre, the figure, cipher, la malle, the mail, the trunk. 

au juste, exactly. sombrer, to sink. 

les Etats-TJnis, the United la plupart, the greater part, 

States. most. 

la piece, the play. 

Notes. — 1. Tard, en retard. Tard is used with the impersonal 
verb il est, or as an adverb with any other verb. En retard is used 
with the verb etre when it is personal. 

I was late, j'etais en retard. 

It is late (meaning the train, or something we have in mind), il est 
en retard. 

Don't go, it is too late, n'allez pas. il est trop tard. 

1. Observe the de in en retard de dix minutes. 



NUMERALS 121 

3. Numero. A number assigned to each thing in a series is a 
" numero." 

4. La plupart. Observe the verb in the plural. 
6. Observe the plural of quart d'heure. 

8. De un. The elision is not made ; un is used as a noun here. 
So if we say what is the gender of etat % it would be de etat. Elision 
does not occur when a word is mentioned as such. 

For Translation 

1. Fifteen is an odd number. Sixteen is an even number. 

2. How do you say triangle in French ? The word is 
the same in French as in English. Is triangle masculine 
or feminine ? It is a masculine noun. How many sides 
has a triangle ? It has three sides and three angles. 

3. Was the train late ? Yes, it was twelve minutes late. 
At what time does it usually arrive ? At twenty minutes 
to twelve. It arrived this morning at eight minutes to 
twelve. 

4. Has the mail come ? Not yet. What time is it ? 
What time did it come yesterday ? At quarter to ten. 

5. I have forgotten the number of the house. It is 
JSTo. 18, I think. 

6. Do you know how many books you have ? I do not 
know exactly. 

7. He is rarely late. Why does he come so late this 
time? 

8. We did not go out yesterday. It was too late. My 
brother did not get here till half-past five {n'est arrive 
qWa . . .). 

9. Get here early, at eight o'clock at the latest. 

10. I have lost at least seven pencils this week. 

11. When it is noon at New York, what time is it at 
Paris ? There is a difference of five hours, I think. 

12. Seven and eight make fifteen. Fifteen and four 
make nineteen. 

13. How many times have you crossed the sea. Ten 
times. 



122 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



14. I lost two of these oranges. I had a dozen oranges 
when I started from the house. 

15. He passed seven years and nine months in China. 

16. I went to visit your friend twice. He has been here 
only once. 



LESSOX XXXIV 

1. The Numbers continued. 

21 vingt-et-un. 31 trente-et-un. 

22 vingt-deux. 32 trente-deux. 

23 vingt-trois. 40 quarante. 

24 vingt-quatre. 41 quarante-et-un. 

25 vingt-cinq. 42 quarante-deux. 

26 vingt-six. 50 cinquante. 

27 vingt-sept. 51 cinquante-et-un. 

28 vingt-huit. 52 cinquante-deux. 

29 vingt-neuf. 60 soixante. 

30 trente. 61 soixante-et-un. 

a. t is silent in vingt unless joined to a following vowel. 
Vingt fois. but vingt \_7iommes. 

b. The t of vingt sounds in all the numbers from 21 to 29 inclusive. 

62 soixante-deux. 

69 soixante-neuf. 

70 soixante-dix. 

71 soixante-et-onze. 

72 soixante-douze. 

73 soixante-treize. 

79 soixante-dix-neuf. 

80 quatre-vingts. 

81 quatre-vingt-un. 

82 quatre-vingt-deux. 

83 quatre-vingt-trois. 
89 quatre-vingt-neuf. 

c. et is inserted in 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 ; nowhere else 

d. Note carefully where the hyphens are found. 



90 quatre-vingt-dix. 

91 quatre-vingt-onze. 

92 quatre-vingt-douze. 

98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit. 

99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. 
100 cent. 

200 deux cent. 
501 cinq cent un. 
1,000 mille. 
1,000,000 un million. 
1,000,000,000 un milliard. 



NUMERALS 123 

e. Quatre-vingts keeps the s before the word that it 
multiplies. Cent takes an s from 200 on, before a word 
that it multiplies. 

Eighty men. Quatre-vingts hommes. 

A hundred men. Cent hommes. 

Two hundred men. Deux cents hommes. 

Two hundred and eight Deux cent huit hommes. 
men. 

/. Mille is written mil in elates. 

1902, mil neuf cent deux or dix-neuf cent deux. 

g. Twenty-one cows. Yingt-et-une vaches. 

Notice the agreement of un, une, wherever it 
occurs. 

2. How old are you ? Quel age avez-yous ? 
I am twenty. J'ai yingt ans. 

My grandfather is sey- Mon grand-pere a soixante- 
enty-three years of age. treize ans. 

3. A million men. Un million d'hommes. 
A billion francs. Un milliard de francs. 

4. Haye you more than two Ayez-yous plus de deux era- 

pencils ? yons ? 

More them, before a number, meaning a larger 
number than, is translated plus de ; less than by 
moins de. 

5. I haye three. J'en ai trois. 

En is a personal pronoun meaning of them. It 
must always be placed before the verb in the in- 
dicative mode. It must be used in connection 
with a number or a word of quantity when the 
noun is left out. 



124 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Have you many friends Avez-vous beaucoup d'amis 

here ? ici ? 

We have very few. Nous en avons fort pen. 

Are there any forks in Y a-t-il des fonrchettes dans 

that drawer ? ce tiroir ? 

There are a dozen (of II y en a une douzaine. 

them). 

EXERCISE 

1. Nous n'avons plus qu'une maison. 
Nous possedons plus d'une maison. 
Nous w avons_achete encore une maison. 

A present, nous habitons une autre maison. 

2. Avez-vous compte ces^assiettes ? Combien y en_a- 
t-il ? II y en_a trente-trois. Est-ce tout ? Je croyais qu'il 
y en w avait plus de quarante. En voila six w autres que je 
ne voyais pas. Qa fait trente-neuf. Cherchez celles qui 
manquent. 

3. Combien de pages y a-t-il dans ce cahier ? II y en a 
a peu pres quarante. Combien de pages blanches y a-t-il ? 
II en reste quinze. II n'en reste que quinze. Avez-vous 
d'autres cahiers? Non, c'est tout ce que j'ai. 

4. Combien de f ois avez-vous ete en Europe ? J'ai ete 
en Europe cinq fois. Combien de temps etes-vous reste en 
Erance la derniere fois ? La derniere fois, c'etait en 1899. 
Je suis reste en France un peu plus de huit semaines, pres 
de soixante jours. 

5. Ce train est en retard neuf fois sur dix. 

Les malades guerissent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf fois sur 
cent. Yous voyez done que la maladie n'est pas bien dan- 
gereuse. 

6. L'addition, la soustraction, la multiplication et la divi- 
sion sont les quatre regies de Tarithmetique. 



NUMERALS 125 



VOCABULARY 

acheter, to buy. une assiette, a plate. 

a peu pres, about, approxi- gu6rir (with an object), to 

mat el y. cure. 

poss6der, to 2iossess, to oivn. gu6rir (without an object), to 

il reste, there remains, there get ivell. 

remain. manquer (with an object), to 

une regie, a rule. miss. 

voila, behold, see, there is, manquer (without an object), 

there are. to be lacking. 

Present Indicative of faire, to do, to make. 

je fais, nous faisons, 

tu fais, vous faites, 

il fait. ils font. 

Notes.— 1. nous n'avons plus qu'une : Literally, we have no 
longer but one, that is, we have only one left. So, I have no one left 
but my brother is je n'ai plus que mon frere. Encore une : One 
more, two more, etc., are translated by encore un, encore deux, etc. 
Un autre means another in the sense of a different one, not in the 
sense of one more. 

2. Voila is an imperative verb, made up of vois, see, and la, there. 
It is used to point out something, and is commonly translated by there 
is or there are. En is always placed before voila. £a : This is a con- 
traction, used in familiar language, of cela. 

3. II reste : This is an impersonal verb. Tout ce que j'ai : The 
words ce qui (nominative) or ce que (accusative) must not be omitted 
after tout with the relative clause dependent upon it. 

5. Neuf fois sur dix : Sur is here translated out of. Note this 
idiomatic use. 

Read aloud in French 

1. 21, 32, 44, 55, 68, 70, 71, 73, 75, 80, 81, 89, 90, 91, 
93, 99. 

2. 100, 101, 105, 115, 262, 272, 282, 1000, 1902, 6000. 

3. One child. Fifty-one children. Eighty children. A 
hundred children. Two hundred children. 



126 FIRST FRENCH -BOOK 

4. How old is your grandfather ? He is seventy. My 
grandfather is more than eighty years old. 

5. Paris has more than two million inhabitants. Fifty 
years ago there were less than a million inhabitants in this 
city. 

6. The Opera House in Paris cost 36,500,000 francs. 

7. How much money have you ? I have only a few 
francs. 

8. Five centimes make a sou. Twenty sous make a 
franc. There are copper coins, silver coins, and gold 
coins. That gold coin that you have is a twenty-franc 
piece. The franc is a silver coin. The fifty-centime piece 
is a silver coin. This big coin is a ten-centime piece ; it 
is a copper coin. A sou is a copper coin. The names of 
the metals are masculine. 

9. I still have a few francs. I have twenty-five francs 
left. Give me twenty-five francs more. Isow I have fifty 
francs. 

10. How many times has your brother crossed the ocean ? 
About ten times. He goes to Europe every year. 

11. Do you like arithmetic ? I understand the four rules 
of arithmetic. I passed my examination last year. 

12. Twelve and twelve make twenty-four. 

13. Are there any pupils that have no copy-books ? I 
have none. There is one for you. There are three more 
that have no copy-books. That makes four. 

14. Twenty pupils out of twenty-six have passed the ex- 
amination. 

VOCABULARY 

The centime, le centime. Silver, l'argent. 

The coin, la piece. The sou, le sou. 

The Opera-House, T0p6ra The five-franc piece, la piece 

(masc.) de cinq francs. 

Copper, le cuivre. To cost, couter. 
Gold, l'or. 



THE ORDINAL NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS 127 

LESSOR XXXV 
THE ORDINAL NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS 

1. First, premier (masc), premiere (fern.). 
Second, deuxieme or second (m.), seconde (f.). 
Third, troisieme. 

Fourth, quatrieme. 

Fifth, cinquieme. 

Sixth, sixieme. 

Ninth, neuvieme. 

Tlie ordinal numbers are formed by adding -ieme 
to the cardinals. 

a. Premier and second are exceptions. 

b. The c in second has the sound of g. 

c. Second is properly used when there are only two. 

d. In adding -ieme 

the final e of quatre is dropped, 
the f of neuf is changed to v, 
u is inserted after the q of cinq. 

2. Twenty-first, vingt-et-unieme. 

Premier is used for first only. Occurring after 
twenty, thirty, etc., unieme is used for first. 

3. The half, La moitie. 

The third, Le tiers (r pronounced). 

The two-thirds, Les deux tiers. 

The fourth, Le quart. 

Three-fourths, Les trois quarts. 

One-fifth, Un cinquieme. 

From one-fifth on, the fractions are denoted by 
the ordinal numbers. 



128 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



4. Days of the week. 

le dimanche, Sunday. le jeudi, Thursday. 

le lundi, Monday. le vendredi, Friday. 

le mardi, Tuesday. le samedi, Saturday. 

le mercredi, Wednesday. 

The article is dropped with the days of the week 
when we speak either of the last or the next day 
of the name. 

Monday he went to visit Lundi il est alle visiter son 

his father. pere. 

He will be here on Friday. II sera ici vendredi. 

But 
He comes to give my son II vient donner une lecon a 

mon fils, le lundi, le mer- 

de 



a lesson Monday, Wed- 
nesday, and Friday of 
each week. 

5. Months of the year. 

January. 
February. 



credi et le vendredi 
chaque semaine. 



janvier, 

ftvrier, 

mars, 

avril, 

mai, 

juin, 



March. 
April. 
May. 
June. 



juillet, 

aoiit, 

septembre, 

octobre, 

novembre, 

d6cembre, 



July. 

August. 

September 

October. 

November. 

December. 



All these nouns are masculine, and all are writ- 
ten with a small letter. 



6. He arrived in February. 
He arrived on the first 

of May. 
We arrived on the same 

day. 
He started on Tuesday. 



II est arrive en fevrier. 

II est arrive le premier mai. 

Nous sommes arrives le meme 

jour. 
II est parti mardi. 



On is not translated in expressions of time. 
Of is not translated in dates. 



NUMERALS AND DATES 129 

7. The eleventh of Decern- Le onze decembre (see §69, 3). 

ber. 
The fourth of July. Le quatre juillet. 

Premier is used for the first of each month. 
For any other date use a cardinal number. 

8. Charles I. Charles I e * (premier). 
Charles IX. Charles neuf. 

After the first, cardinal numbers are used with 
names of popes, kings, emperors, etc. 

EXERCISE 

1. Y a-t-il quelque rapport entre le nom du jour mardi, 
et le nom du mois mars ? Mais oui, naturellement. N'avez- 
vous point^entendu parler du dieu Mars ? C'est^ainsi que 
le lundi est le jour de la lune, et que le mercredi est celui 
du dieu Mercure. Le jeudi est le jour de Jupiter et le ven- 
dredi celui de Venus. 

2. Trente est la dixieme partie de trois cents. 
Sept est le tiers de vingt-et-un. 

Les deux tiers de ces fruits sont pourris. 
II est^absent les trois quarts du temps. 

3. Mardi prochain, c'est le dernier jour du mois. 
Mardi dernier nous etions tous ensemble. Aujour- 

d'hui nous sommes tous separes les uns des autres. 

4. La derniere semaine de notre sejour etait la plus 

agreable de toutes. 
Le dernier mois de l'annee c'est decembre. Chez les 

Eomains c'etait le mois de fevrier. 
J'ai recu cette lettre le mois dernier. 

5. La fete nationale a lieu le 14 juillet. 
Noel arrive le 25 decembre. 

Le jour de Tan est aussi une grande fete dans tous 

les pays. 
Le printemps finit le 21 juin. 



130 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

6. Paris, le 6 avril, 1901. 

Mon cher ami : 

Si votre soiree n'est pas prise, venez diner avec nous 
domain soir a six heures. Mon pere a une loge pour le 
Theatre-Francais. Tachez done de venir. Eappelez-moi 
au bon souvenir de tous et croyez-moi 

Votre bien devoue, 

Hekei Blakc. 
VOCABULARY 
le rapport, the connection, ainsi, thus. 

relation. pourrir, to rot. 

le nom, the name, the noun, les uns des autres, from one 
ensemble (adv.), together. another. 

le sejour, the stay, sojourn, la fete, the feast, holiday. 
avoir lieu, to take place. Noel, Christmas. 

le lieu, the place, locality. Le jour de Fan, New Year's 



le printemps, spring. 

tacher, to endeavor, try. la loge, the lox (in a theater). 

le souvenir, the recollection, rappeler, to recall. 

remembrance. de>ou6, devoted. 

chez, among. 

Note. — 6. Rappelez-moi au bon souvenir de. This corresponds 
to the English remember me kindly. Votre devoue corresponds to 
yours truly. 

For Translation 

1. There are more than thirty pupils in the class, and 
nine times out of ten John is first. The teacher says he is 
the best pupil in the class. (See Lesson XXII.) 

2. When did you arrive ? We arrived on the first of the 
month. This year we arrived earlier (plus tot) than usual 
(a r ordinaire). We have been to Europe (en Europe) twice. 
The first time we passed the whole summer in England, the 
second time we visited Paris. I visited Paris for the first 
time in 1889. 

3. Open your book at the twenty-first page. Copy the 
first eight (les huit premieres) sentences. 



NUMERALS AND DATES 131 

4. This the first time I have seen your brother. This is 
the second time you have lost that ring. 

5. September is the ninth month of the year, October is 
the tenth, November is the eleventh, and December is the 
twelfth. The names of these months prove that with the 
Eomans March was the first month. 

Sunday is the first day of the week. Saturday is the 
seventh day of the week. 

6. My father had four children. I was the fourth child 
and the third son. 

7. Which is to-day's lesson? Have you studied the 
thirty-fifth lesson ? 

8. The teacher found mistakes in half of my sentences. 
He did not praise my exercise. 

9. The first three chairs are too high. They are higher 
than the others. 

10. The last time I was sick was (c'etait) last winter. I 
went out for the first time on the 23d of March. 

11. Louis XIV reigned seventy-two years, from 1613 to 
1715. 

12. Louis XVI died on the scaffold on the 21st of 
January, 1793. 

13. Napoleon I became Emperor of the French on the 
18th of May, 1804. 

14. The Third Eepublic was proclaimed on the 4th of 
September, 1870. 

15. We have a vacation between Christmas and New 
Year's. 

VOCABULARY 

A mistake, une faute. A scaffold, un 6chafaud. 

To proclaim, proclamer. The republic, la r6publique. 

Notes. — 3. The French say les deux premiers, not Us premiers 
deux, as the English student might expect. 15. Do not forget that 
vacation is rendered by a plural noun. 



132 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSOR XXXVI 



1. The Futtjke Indicative of the Theee Conjugations: 

Porter. Finir. Rendre. 

je porterai, I shall carry. je finirai, je rendrai, 
tu porteras, thou wilt carry, tu finiras, tu rendras, 
il portera, he will carry, il finira, il rendra, 

nous porterons, we shall carry, nous finirons, nous rendrons, 
vous porterez, you will carry, yous finirez, vous rendrez, 
ils porter ont, they will carry, ils finiront. ils rendront. 

Note. — The future of French verbs was formed originally by com- 
bining the present indicative of avoir with the infinitive. Je porterai 
is for je porter-ai, I have to carry, therefore, / shall carry. The av 
has disappeared in the first and second plural, originally porter-avons, 
finir-avez. 

2. The future indicative is formed from the infini- 
tive by adding the endings ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont. 

Final e of the infinitive is dropped. 
As every infinitive ends in r or re, all future 
verbs end in rai, ras, ra, rons, rez, ront. 

3. Who is there ? Qui est la ? 
I. • Moi. 

Is it thou ? (Is it you ?) Est-ce toi ? 

I am taller than he. Je suis plus grand que lui. 

Go with her. Allez avec elle. 

These flowers are for them. Ces fleurs sont pour eux. 

Je, tu, il, ils, are only used as subject of a verb, 
and in connection with a verb. 

4. The Stkessed Peesoxal Pkokouns 

I, me, moi. we, us, nous. 

thou, thee, toi. you, vous. 

he, him, lui. they, them, eux (m.). 

she, her, elle. they, them, elles. (f.). 



THE FUTURE TENSE 133 

These pronouns are often called disjunctive, because 
they are used when not joined to a verb. 

When we say je porte, j'ai, il va, there is no stress 
on the prononn. When the prononn is j' this is 
especially evident. But suppose special stress or 
emphasis required, I went, but he stayed at home, 
then a stress-pronoun is used : Moi, j'y suis alle, 
mais lui est reste a la maison. 

These stress-pronouns are used : 

a. When emphasis is wanted. In this case moi, je, are used 
together, and must not be translated i, I. 

0. When the verb of which the pronoun is subject is omitted. 
c. With prepositions. 

5. To my house, chez moi. 

At her house, chez elle. 

To our uncle's, chez notre oncle. 

At M. Faure's, chez M. Faure. 

Among the Eomans, chez les Romains. 

At his house, chez lui. 

To their house, chez eux. 

At the butcher's, chez le boucher. 

To Louisa's, chez Louise. 

Among the living, chez les vivants. 

Chez is a preposition. 

EXERCISE 

1. Vous dinerez avec nous, n'est-ce pas ? Louis et moi, 
nous resterons a diner, mais Victor est invite ailleurs. II 
regrettera beaucoup de ne pas etre des notres. 

2. Yous n'oublierez pas de mettre ma lettre a la poste. 
II y a une boite aux lettres au coin. 

3. Les fruits ne muriront pas si cette pluie continue. 
Les fruits ne murissent pas quand il n'y a pas de soleil. 

4. Toi est ton frere, vous etudierez jusqu'a quatre 
heures et alors vous sortirez avec moi. 



134 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. Vous noircirez yos mains si vous touchez cette 
machine. 

6. Je suis sur que Francois rendra cet argent a la fin 
du mois. 

7. Monsieur et Madame Ardin arriveront ce soir. Lui 
est tres gai. II amusera tout le monde. Elle est tout le 
contraire de son mari, elle ne dit jamais un mot. 

8. Mes freres n'etant pas prets, je suis parti sans eux. 

9. J'ai fait bien des visites cette apres-midi. J'ai ete 
d'abord chez Madame Bourget, et de chez elle je suis allee 
cbez sa soeur. Celle-ci etait sur le point d'aller chez Louise, 
de sorte que nous sommes sorties ensemble. Apres d'autres 
yisites j'ai ete chez ma couturiere, puis j'ai fait des emplettes, 
et a six heures je suis rentree chez moi, tres fatiguee. 

10. Xous attendons le facteur a tout moment. Voila, 
on sonne. Je crois que c'est lui. Est-ce le facteur, Hen- 
riette ? Oui, madame, c'est lui. II apporte une lettre pour 
vous. 

11. Les autres assisteront au mariage. Moi, je suis 
oblige de partir le 20. Je manquerai done la ceremonie. 

12. Ton pere et ton oncle ne sont pas de notre avis. 
Selon eux, nous perdrons tout, si nous risquons notre argent 
dans cette affaire. Xi toi ni moi, nous n'avons pas eu assez 
d'experience pour agir sans eux. 

13. Chez les Chinois, c'est l'usage de deformer les pieds 
des petites filles. 

VOCABULARY 

ailleurs, elseivhere. la poste, the post-office. 

murir, to ripen. mettre a la poste, to mail. 

noircir, to blacken. la boite aux lettres, the letter- 
le contraire, the opposite. box. 

faire des emplettes, to go une apres-midi, an afternoon, 

shopping. la couturiere, the dressmaker. 

le facteur, the postman. fatigue, tired. 

assister a, to be present at. sonner, to sound, to ring the 
l'avis (m.), the opinion. bell. 



THE FUTURE TENSE 135 

Notes. — 1. Ne pas etre. Fas is usually placed before the infini- 
tive. 

3. Murir. 5. Noircir. Verbs are frequently formed from adjec- 
tives by means of the suffix -ir. Grossir, to enlarge, to magnify ; 
rougir, to blush ; grandir, to grow tall, are examples. 

I, 4, 12. When the subjects are different grammatical persons, they 
are usually summed up by nous if one of them is of the first person, 
otherwise by vous. 

2, 4. The e mute in such futures as j'oublierai is completely silent. 
9. Celle-ci. The latter is expressed in French by celui-ci, celle-ci, 
ceux-ci, celles-ci. (The former would be celui-la, celle-la, etc.) 
12. The n of selon is never linked. 

VERB FORMS 
1. I shall arrive. 2. Thou wilt wait. 

We shall bring. Will she wait ? 

They will act. Shall we not wait ? 

3. He will beat. 4. We shall copy. 

They will build. He will forget. 

Will they build ? Will they forget ? 

5. You will establish. 6. He will cure. 

Will he enter ? You will punish. 

He will enter. They will choose. 

7. Is it you ? It is I. Is it John ? It is he. Are you 
taller than I ? I am taller than she. You are taller than 
they. You are not taller than he. 

8. Come with me. I will work with thee. These flow- 
ers are for him. Go without her this time. Come with 
us. Didn't Louis go with you? Josephine and Mary are 
up-stairs ; their aunt is with them. Louis and Charles were 
not ready ; I started without them. 

9. My sister went to the park, I stayed at home. He 
likes music, but they don't like music. 

10. Did they go to your house, or did you go to their 
house ? We went to my uncle's. Come to-morrow to my 
house. 

II. At which baker's did you buy that bread ? I buy 
the bread every day at Roussel's. 

10 



136 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

12. You and your brother will carry this fruit to your 
aunt's. 

13. The rain will ruin the fruit. It will not ripen. 

14. Louise made several visits to-day. First she went 
to the dressmaker's, and from there she went to her cousin's. 
Her cousin had gone out. Then she went to Mme. Bourget's. 
She came home an hour ago. 

15. My brother and I are waiting for the postman. I 
shall not wait any longer. 

16. You will lose everything if you risk your money in 
that affair. 

17. Will your friend be present at the wedding ? Xo ; 
he will miss the ceremony ; he will arrive too late. 

18. We shall pay back that money at the end of the 
week. 

19. Your mother and I are not of your opinion. You 
have not had sufficient experience to act alone in this 
matter. 

Notes. — 13. To ruin is miner. Use the plural in translating fruit. 
15. Longer is here plus longtemps. 



LESSON XXXYII 

1. Futuke of Avoir: Futuke oe Etre: 

j'aurai (§ 19, 3), je serai, 

tu auras, tu seras, 

il aura, il sera, 

nous aurons, nous serons, 

vous aurez, vous serez, 

ils auront. ils seront. 

2. Futuke Axtekiok of Futuke Akteriok of 

Avoir : Etre : 

j'aurai eu, j'aurai ete, 

tu auras eu, etc. tu auras ete, etc. 



THE FUTURE ANTERIOR 



137 



3. Future Anterior of 
Fintr : 
j'aurai fini, 
tu auras fini, 
il aura fini, 
nous aurons fini, 
vous aurez fini, 
ils auront fini. 



Future Anterior oe 
Aller : 
je serai alle, 
tu seras alle, 
il sera alle, 
nous serons alles, 
vous serez alles, 
ils seront alles. 



4. This compound future, rarely used in English 
in subordinate clauses, is regularly employed in 
French when the meaning calls for it. 



Quand vous aurez fini vos exer- 
cices, vous porterez votre 
cahier a votre maitre. 



5. When you have finished 
your exercises, you will 
carry your copy-book to 
your teacher. 
As soon as you reach 
Paris, telegraph to 
your mother. 

After a conjunction of time use the future or 
future anterior in referring to future time. 

SOME CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME 



Des que vous serez a Paris, 
telegraphiez a votre mere. 



quand, when. 
lorsque, when. 
pendant que, while. 

Pres. Part, of 

Avoir: 
ayant, having. 
Compound Part, of 

Avoir : 
ayant eu, having had. 



des que, as soon as. 
aussitot que, as soon as. 
tant que, as long as. 

Pres. Part, of 

Etre: 

6tant, being. 

Compound Part, of 

Etre: 
ayant 6t6, having been. 



So we have the Compound Participles : 
ayant ports, ayant fini, ayant rendu, 6tant all6, 6tant venu. 



138 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. Past Infinitive of Past Infinitive of 

Avoir : Etre : 

avoir eu, to have had. avoir 6t6, to have been. 

So we have the Past Infinitives : 
avoir port6, avoir fini, avoir rendu, etre all6, etre venn. 

EXERCISE 

1. Nous^aurons le temps (Taller et de revenir bien vite. 

2. Je serai content quand ma mere sera de retour. Puis, 
tu seras la, toi aussi. Ce sera tres beau ! Nous serons tous 
reunis encore une fois. 

3. Ce vaurien sera toujours le meme ; il ne changera 
jamais. 

4. Vous n'entendrez jamais plus parler de cette affaire. 

5. Pendant que vous chercherez ces mots dans le dic- 
tionnaire je recopierai cette page. Elle est trop mal 
ecrite. 

6. Si vous reflechissez un peu, vous trouverez qu'il n'est 
pas necessaire de chercher tant de mots dans le dictionnaire. 
Des que vous tombez sur un mot nouveau vous courez au 
dictionnaire, et, puisque chaque mot a plusieurs significa- 
tions vous choisissez au hasard. Un mot est souvent ex- 
plique par le contexte. A l'avenir n'ouvrez le dictionnaire 
que lorsque vous aurez essaye de comprendre par le con- 
texte. Vous gagnerez du temps et vous ne perdrez pas pa- 
tience comme vous faites a present. 

7. Je serai a New York dans trois mois. 

8. On fait la traversee en six jours. 

9. Nous serons avec vous dans un instant. 

10. En un clin d'oeil il avait disparu. 

11. Des ce jour il n'etait plus le meme homme. Desor- 
mais il sera plus prudent. 

12. Des qu'ils auront vendu leur maison ils partiront 
pour la ville. 



THE FUTURE TENSE 139 

13. Voulez-vous des pommes de terre? Aurez-vous le 
temps de faire une commission pour moi. 

14. Ay ant termine ma tache j'etais libre de partir. 
Etant malade, elle n'est pas sortie ce jour-la. 

VOCABULARY 

un avenir, a future. le vaurien, the good-for-noth- 
le clin d'oeil, the tivinkling ing. 

of an eye. courir (irregular verb), to run. 

d6sormais, henceforth, here- expliquer, to explain. 

after. libre, free. 

faire une commission, to do etre de retour, to le back. 

an errand. r6unir, to reunite. 

au hasard, at random. la traversee, the crossing, trip 
le retour, the return. across. 

ouvrez (imperative), open. la tache, the task. 

des (prep, of time), from. la pomme de terre, the potato. 

Notes. — 3. Vaurien — II vaut means he is worth (verb valoir) ; 
rien, nothing. 

4. Parler is direct object of entendrez. The English construc- 
tion is like it if we say hear tell. 

7, 8, 9, 10. Dans un mois means at the end of a month, a month 
from now. En un mois means taking up a whole month. 

11. Des marks a beginning. Des ce moment, from that mo- 
ment on. 

13. Voulez-vous ? may be translated will you have 9 but the real 
meaning is, of course, do you wish ? Aurez-vous ? is will you have ? 
referring to future time. 

For Translation 

1. We shall be very glad when you get back. Then 
Louis will be here too. It will be very fine, won't it ? The 
whole family will be reunited once more. 

2. While you study your lessons I shall go out. I have 
a few errands to do (a faire). I shall be back in an hour. 

3. I shall copy this page again. It is very badly written. 

4. You look for too many words in the dictionary. 
Nearly every word has several meanings. Try, therefore, to 



140 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

understand the words by the context. Do not open the dic- 
tionary nntil you have tried to understand by the context. 

5. Next summer I shall not work as I am doing now. 
He says that next summer he will not work as he is doing 
now. We shall not work as we are doing now, either. 

6. I shall answer Louis' letter when I have had an 
answer from my father. 

7. My exercise is full of mistakes. In future I shall try 
to do better. 

8. We went from New York to Chicago in twenty-four 
hours. We made the crossing from Cherbourg to New York 
in less than six days. I shall be in Paris in three weeks. 
I'll be with you in a moment. 

9. Will you have some butter ? No, thank you. Won't 
you have a little more meat? If you please. Will you 
have time to write that letter this evening ? I wrote to 
Louis this morning as soon as I got home. 

10. Having finished our task, we were free to go (partir). 

11. From to-morrow on he will be in the other class. 
From to-day on you will remain in this class. Hence- 
forward you and I will be more careful. 

12. As soon as you finish your exercise bring me your 
copy-book. 

13. The doctor says that as long as my father lives in 
the city he will not get well. As soon as we sell our house 
we shall start for the country. 

14. Shall I have time to go and get back before three 
o'clock ? 



LESSON XXXVIII 



1. Present Indicative of the Irregulae Verb 
Voir, to see. 
je vois, / see. nous voyons, we see. 

tu vois, thou seest. vous voyez, you see. 

il voit, lie sees. ils voient, they see. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS 



141 



2. 1 see thee, 
I see him, 
I see her, 
He sees me, 
He sees you, 
I respect 

myself, 
He respects 

himself, 
We respect 

ourselves. 



Je te vois. 
Je le vois. 
Je la vois. 
II me voit. 
II vous voit. 
Je me re- 

specte. 
II se respecte. 

Nous nous 
respectons. 



Do you see my 

book? 
I see it, 
Do you see my 

pen? 
I don't see it, 

Do you see us? 

We see you, 

Do you see 

them? 
I see them. 



Voyez-vous 
mon livre ? 

Je le vois. 

Voyez-vous 
ma plume ? 

Je ne la vois 
pas. 

Nous voyez- 
vous ? 

JSTous vous 
voyons. 

Les voyez- 
vous? 

Je les vois. 



a. The personal pronoun, when it is the direct object 
of the verb, is placed before the verb. 

(Exceptions are given farther on.) 

h. These pronouns are unstressed or conjunctive pro- 
nouns. They are without emphasis, and not used apart 
from the verb. 

c. The case of a noun or pronoun, direct object of a 
verb, is called the Accusative Case. 

Note. — Nouns, in French, have no special forms for cases. 



3. Table of Conjunctive or Unstressed 

Personal Pronouns 



ACCUSATIVE 



First person, 
Second person, 
Third person masc, 
Third person fern., 
Third person reflexive, 



Sing. 

me 

te 

le 

la 

se 



Plural. 
nous 
vous 
les 
les 
se 



142 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Look at me, Eegardez-moi. 
Look at thyself, Eegarde-toi. 
Look at him, Regardez-le. 
Look at her, Regardez-la. 
Look at us, Regardez-nous. 
Look at you, Regardez-vous. 
Let us look at them, Regardons-les. 

When the verb is imperative affirmative the 
accusative pronouns are placed after it. Moi and 
toi are used in this case. 

5. Do not look at him, Ne le regardez pas. 
Let us not look at them, Ne les regardons pas. 
Do not look at me, ~Ne me regardez pas. 

The pronouns with a negative imperative are 
placed according to the general rule. 

6. Le, la, offer the only separate forms for gender 
among all the unstressed pronouns. 

EXERCISE 

1. Si je ferme la porte vous l'ouvrez et si je la laisse 
ouverte vous la fermez. 

2. Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera. Traduisez cette phrase 
litteralemente, et puis donnez-lui la forme du proverbe 
anglais. 

3. Toutes ces choses le rendaient fou. 

4. La porte etait entr'ouverte, il n'eut qu'a la pousser 
pour entrer. 

5. Louise, avez-vous les ciseaux? Oui, je les ai. Eh 
bien, quand vous aurez fini de couper cette soie, donnez-les 
a Jeanne. 

6. Voulez-vous nous accompagner au theatre ce soir? 
Je serai enchante de vous accompagner. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS 143 

7. Aujourd'hui le maitre va nous interroger sur le futur 
des verbes. II m'a gronde l'autre jour, parce que je ne tra- 
vaillais pas assez. Est-ce que vous n'apprenez pas les ter- 
minaisons des verbes ? Les trouvez-vous si difficiles ? Eh 
bien, cette fois je vais les apprendre par coeur. 

8. Des qu'il eut sept ans sa mere l'envoya a 1'ecole. 
Des qu'ils eurent sept ans leurs parents les envoyerent a 
1'ecole. 

9. Voila un moreeau de craie. Prenez-le. Effacez ces 
phrases, et ecrivez celle-ci. Ecrivez-la plus bas. Quel est 
le sujet de la phrase? Soulignez-le. Oii est le verbe? 
Ecrivez le futur de ce verbe en entier. L'avez-vous ecrit ? 
Dites-moi les terminaisons du futur. Soulignez-les. 

10. Laissez-moi, je vous prie. Je suis trop fatigue pour 
sortir aujourd'hui. Vous m'obligerez beaucoup en me 
laissant ici. 

11. Cette dame, je la vois souvent. Je la vois souvent, 
cette dame. Elle ne m'a pas vu, moi ; toi, elle t'a vu. 

12. Nous voyez-vous ? Nous vous voyons. Ecoutez-nous. 
Nous ecoutez-vous ? Ne nous ecoutez-vous pas ? NeJ'ecou- 
tez-vous pas ? Ne l'ecoutez pas. 

VOCABULARY 

aider, to help. couper, to cut. 

le ciel, heaven [the shy). la craie, the chalk. 

les ciseaux (m.), the scissors. une 6cole, a school. 

le coeur, the heart. en entier, complete. 

entr'ouvert, partly open, ajar. enchanter, to delight. 

gronder, to scold. interroger, to question. 

pousser, to push. souligner, to underline. 

Notes. — 3. Rendre followed by an adjective is often translated to 
make. 

4. Pour entrer: pour with an infinitive expresses purpose; in 
order to. 

5. To finish doing is finir de faire. 

6. Delighted to do : enchante de faire. 



144 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. Interroger sur: to question about. 

10. En me laiscant : by leaving me. 

11. These sentences show that in French the object may be expressed 
twice. Whenever a noun object precedes the subject it is inserted again 
before the verb as a pronoun. This pleonasm is frequent in ordinary 
speech. 

12. Practice is necessary to recognize quickly whether nous or 
vous is subject or object in the various interrogative and imperative 
forms. 

For Translation 

1. Paris, Sept. 29, 1900. 

My Dear Friend : Enclosed (ci-joint) you will find my 
brother's address (adresse). We hope you will have time to 
visit him while you are in London. He will be delighted to 
see you. We had a letter from him two or three weeks ago. 
He says he will stay in London until the first of November. 
I beg you to excuse me if my letter is rather short. We are 
very busy to-day. 

Believe me always, 

Yours very truly, 



2. Do not close the door; leave it open. Do not open 
the door ; leave it closed. Close it. Open it. Don't close 
it. Don't open it. Have you opened the windows in my 
room ? No. Well, don't open them. 

3. Come here, Charles. Help me a little. Charles 
always helps me. Have you the scissors? No; Mary has 
them. Mary, haven't you finished cutting that paper yet ? 
No ; I shall have finished in a moment. Where did you put 
the scissors ? There they are. 

4. I am going to question you on the future of French 
verbs. What are the terminations of the future of all 
French verbs ? Write them. Now read them. Eecite the 
future of entendre. 

5. Do you hear me? I hear you. Did you hear him? 



THE CONDITIONAL MODE 145 

I heard him. Do they hear us ? They do not hear us. We 
hear you. 

6. Have you a piece of chalk? There is one. Write 
this sentence in French. Write it higher up. Tell me the 
subject of the sentence. 

7. You will oblige us greatly by sending the flowers to 
Madame Charvet's before six. 

8. Leave me, I beg you. Leave us. He is ill ; do not 
leave him. 

9. If you want these books, take them. Those pens 
belong to my brother ; do not take them. He scolded me 
the other day because I had taken one of his pens. 

10. Nobody sees us. Nobody saw him. Nobody heard 
you. 

11. Do you hear the music ? I don't hear it. I hear it 
now. Let us listen to this piece. Listen to it. That lady 
sings admirably. Let us listen to her. 



LESSON XXXIX 
1. Present Conditional of the Three Conjugations 

je porterais, I should je finirais, je rendrais, 

carry, 
tu porterais, thou wouldst tu finirais, tu rendrais, 

carry, 
il porterait, he would il finirait, il rendrait, 

carry, 
nous porterions, we should nous finirions, nous rendrions, 

carry, 
vous porteriez, you would vous finiriez, vous rendriez, 

carry, 
ils porteraient, they would ils finiraient. ils rendraient. 

carry. 



146 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. Meaning of the Conditional 
The Conditional mode has two chief uses. 

a. It denotes the conclusion in a conditional sentence. 
Example : 
If I were strong enough, I Si j'etais assez fort je le por- 
should carry it for you. terais pour vous. 

h. It is used with a past tense in quoting the future. 
Example : 
Future. He says that he will II dit qu'il le portera 

carry it for you. pour vous. 

Conditional. He said that he would II a dit qu'il le porte- 
carry it for you. rait pour yous. 

3. When the verb in the conclusion is in the condi- 
tional present, the verb in the supposition is in the 
imperfect indicative. 

Example : Si j'6tais, above. 

4. If he has time, ) ovl , . 

„, , ,, , ,. h S ll a le temps 

It he should have time, ) x 

he will finish his les- il finira sa lecon cette apres- 
son this afternoon. midi. 

If the conclusion is in the future tense, the verb 
in the supposition is in the present indicative. 

5. Formation of the Conditional Present 

The Conditional is formed by adding the endings 
of the Imperfect Indicative to the Infinitive, drop- 
ping final e if there is one : -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, 
•aient. 

Note 1. — As every infinitive contains r, all conditionals have as 
final syllables -rais, -rais, -rait, -rions, -riez, -raient. 

Note 2. — We see that in its formation, and in its original use (cf. 
2. b. of this lesson), the conditional is a kind of past future, or future 
viewed from the past. 



THE CONDITIONAL MODE U7 

Caution. — Never use either the future or the 
conditional after si in a clause of supposition. 

6. Si becomes s' before il and ils, and before no other 
word. 

Translate 
II admire, Nous celebrons, 

II admirait, Nous celebrions, 
II admira, Nous celebrames, 

II admirera, Nous celebrerons, 
II admirerait, Nous celebrerkras. 

7. Would and should are not always signs that the Conditional is 
to be used in French. For instance : 

He, wouldn't go, meaning he did not wish to go, 11 n'a pas voulu 

aller. 
He would often try, meaning he tried repeatedly, II essayait sou- 
vent. 
He would never try, meaning he was never will- II ne voulait ja- 

ing to try, mais essayer. 

He shouldn't do that, meaning he ought not to do il ne devrait pas 

that, faire cela. 

He said I shouldn't go, meaning he foroade me to go, il m'a defendu d'y 

aller. 

8. Conditional Present of 
AVOIR ETRE 

j'aurais, je serais, 

tu aurais, tu serais, 

il aurait, il serait, 

nous aurions, nous serions, 

vous auriez, vous seriez, 

ils auraient, ils seraient. 

EXERCISE 
1. Les petites filles parlaient_entre elles. Si j'etais 

riche, moi, disait Tune d'elles, j'habiterais les Champs^ 
Elysees ! 



148 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. II a dit qu'il ne repondrait pas w a cette lettre. 

3. Je croyais que nous aurions le temps d'aller et de 
revenir avant le depart du bateau. 

4. Elle a repondu que tant qu'elle n'aurait pas la preuve 
certaine de la mort de son frere, elle continuerait a le croire 
vivant. 

5. Nous avons dit que nous serions a Londres dans huit 
jours. 

6. Le medecin a ecrit a ma mere qu'aussitot que Yin- 
cent serait gueri, lui, Vincent, retournerait chez nous. 

7. Je croyais qu'apres cette facheuse experience il serait 
plus prudent. 

8. C'etait leur intention, des qu'ils auraient vendu leur 
maison, de partir pour la capitale. 

9. Si vous reflechissiez un peu, vous changeriez d'avis, 
j 'en suis sur. 

10. Pauvre garcon ! ses efforts n'ont abouti a rien ! 
J'etais sur que ses efforts n'aboutiraient a rien. 

11. Vous auriez ete enchante de voir le changement 
qu'il y a en lui. 

12. Si vous vendiez ces articles a meilleur marche, vous 
ne perdriez rien, car vous vendriez beaucoup plus qu'a pre- 
sent. Vos prix sont beaucoup trop eleves. Vous ne voulez 
pas me croire. Mais je suis sur de ce que je dis. 

13. Si nous partions demain matin par le premier train, 
a quelle heure est-ce que nous arriverions a Lyon? II n'y 
a qu'un seul express le matin. Avec celui-la vous arrive- 
riez a quatre heures. 

14. Quel age donneriez-vous a mon beau-frere ? Je dirais 
qu'il a passe la trentaine. Vous devinez juste. II a trente- 
et-un ans. 

15. Si je chantais faux comme lui, je ne chanterais pas. 
II ne sait pas qu'il chant e faux. II croit chanter juste. 



THE CONDITIONAL MODE 149 

VOCABULARY 

aboutir, to terminate, to come le prix, the price. 

to. facheux, facheuse, vexatious, 
deviner, to guess. unfortunate. 

le beau-frere, the drother-in- Londres, London. 

law. la mort, death. 

croire, to believe (irregular la preuve, the proof . 

verb). 

Notes. — 1. L' A venue des Champs-Elysees is one of the great 
streets of Paris. Habiter has a direct object. 

3. Notice the repetition of the preposition de before each infinitive. 

6. Lui, not il, because the pronoun is separated from the verb by 
the noun Vincent. 

9. Changer d'avis : idiom meaning to change one's mind. 

12. The comparative of a bon marche (cheap) is a meilleur 
marche. 

14. La trentaine. The suffix -aine is added to many of the num- 
bers. Une douzaine is a dozen ; une vingtaine, a score ; une qua- 
rantaine, a set of forty, une centaine, a hundred or so. 

14, 15. Juste, faux, are here adverbs. 

For Translation 

1. I should pay back that money if I had it. I shall 
pay it back when I have it. You said you would pay it 
back this week. 

2. We shall finish the work to-morrow. We should fin- 
ish it to-day if we had all the materials. They said that 
they would finish the work to-morrow. 

3. They admire that picture. Did you say you admired 
that picture? Your husband will admire it, I am sure. 
Didn't he admire it ? I knew he would admire it. 

4. We little boys were talking among ourselves. My 
father was listening to us. Frank said, " When I am a 
man I shall be a lawyer." Louis said he would be a baker. 

5. When did they say they would be here ? They said 
that they would be here before the end of the month. 
Here is their letter : " We start from here on the 9th. We 



150 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

shall be at your house before the end of the month, prob- 
ably on the 29th." 

6. The doctor said my mother would never get well if 
she continued to live in the city. As soon as spring comes 
we shall start for the mountains. We should start now if 
the weather were more agreeable. 

7. My father said to Louis that he, Louis, would change 
his mind. He reflected a little, and he did change his 
mind. 

8. We should be delighted to accompany you this even- 
ing. Unfortunately our evening is taken. 

9. If we sold these things cheaper we should lose noth- 
ing, for we should sell much more than now. Are you sure 
of what you are saying ? I am certain of it. 

10. He guessed right the first time. How old did you 
think I was ? How old would you take my father-in-law to 
be? I should say he has passed sixty. He will be sixty 
next month. 

11. Your sister-in-law sings very well. She always sings 
in tune. If I sang as well as she, I should sing all the 
time. 

12. I think you will be happy when you are at your 
father's once again. I thought you would be happy when 
you were at your father's once again. 

13. The gentleman says the public will be admitted to 
the museum every day except Monday. He said the public 
would not be admitted Mondays. 

14. We shall hear you if you speak louder. We should 
hear you if you spoke louder. 

15. I am sure our troops will fight valiantly. I was sure 
our troops would fight valiantly. 

VOCABULARY 

The materials, les materiaux. Unfortunately, malheureuse- 
The weather, le temps. ment. 



THE PAST PARTICIPLE 



151 



LESSOR XL 



take the let- Avez-vous pris la lettre ? 



Did you 
ter? 

My brother took it. 

There is the sentence 
that I wrote. 

Did you write that sen- 
tence ? 



Mon frere l'a prise. 

Voila la phrase que j'ai 6crite. 

Est-ce vous qui avez 6crit cette 
phrase ? 



The past participle conjugated with avoir agrees 
in gender and number with the direct object of the 
verb, when the object precedes the verb. 



2. This young girl, loved by 
all her friends. 
The burned forts. 
The burned towns. 



Cette jeune fille, 
toutes ses amies. 
Les forts brul6s. 
Les villes bruises. 



aim6e de 



When the past participle merely relates to a 
noun, like an adjective, it agrees with that noun. 



3. The lady is here. 
Here is the lady. 
Where are our friends? 
There they are. 
There are seven chairs in 

this room. 
There's your chair. 

Voici and Voila, 



La dame est ici. 

Voici la dame. 

Ou sont nos amis ? 

Les voila. 

H y a sept chaises dans cette 

chambre. 
Voila votre chaise. 



These words are made of the imperative of voir, 
to see, and ci (here), la (there). 

They differ from est ici, est la, and il y a, in that 
they point out some object seen or heard. 



n 



152 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Geography, history, and La geographie, l'histoire et le 
Latin ; these are my latin ; voila mes etudes fa- 
favorite studies. vorites. 

The definition is as fol- Voici la definition, 
lows. 

Voila in connected discourse points to something 
preceding, voici to something coming. 

EXERCISE 

1. J'ai retrouve mes camarades tels que je les_avais 
laisses. 

2. Xous marchions dans w un tourbillon de poussiere, 
aveugles. 

3. Du pain bis, une tranche de viande ou de jambon 
et quelques oignons crus, voila ce que nous avons 
mange. 

4. Voici les noms de ceux qui ont gagne des prix : 
Michel Eigny, Felicie Girard, et Jules Lagneau. 

5. Le general nous a divises en deux compagnies. 

6. Comment ! vous voila Louise ? Mais je vous croyais 
partie ! Pourquoi done n'etes-vous pas partie avec les 
autres ? C'est tout simplement parce qu'ils ne m'ont pas 
invitee, voila tout ! 

7. Une des choses que j'ai apprises hier est celle-ci : II y 
a un nom masculin, le manche, qui signifie the handle. On 
dit par exemple un manclie de ialai, a hroom-handle. Puis 
il y a un nom feminin la manclie, qui veut dire the sleeve. 
La Manclie c'est le nom francais de ce que les Anglais 
appellent the English Channel. Cuffs sont en francais des 
manchettes, et un manchon s'appelle en anglais a muff. Ce 
sont tous des mots de la meme famille. 

8. Qui a ouvert cette porte ? C'est moi qui l'ai ouverte. 
En quelle annee Colomb a-t-il decouvert l'Amerique ? II l'a 
decouverte en 1492. 

9. Oii sont les pommes qui etaient la tout a l'heure? 



THE PAST PARTICIPLE 153 

C'est Louis qui les a prises, puis lui et moi nous les avons 
toutes mangees. 

10. II youlait savoir s'il y a des poissons dans ce lac. 
Voila le poisson que j'ai pris. Yoila une anguille que j'ai 
prise. 

11. Est-ce que Monsieur Guerin a accepte notre invita- 
tion ? Je crois que oui. Louis, sais-tu si Monsieur Guerin 
a accepte l'invitation ? II ne l'a pas acceptee. Voici sa 
reponse. Je l'ai recue ce matin. 

VOCABULARY 

aveugler, to blind. toute a l'heure, just noiv, 
le pain bis, brown bread, black presently. 

bread. une anguille, an eel (u silent, 
le balai, the broom. llmouillees). 

le jambon, the ham. cru, crue, raw. 

un oignon, an onion (see la manchette, the cuff. 

§ 14, 2). la tranche, the slice. 

le prix, the prize, the price. la poussiere, the dust. 

le tourbillon, the whirlwind vouloir dire, to mean. 

(11 mouillees). 

Notes. — 1. Tel is an adjective. Its forms are tel, telle, tels, telles. 
In the expression tel que, we generally translate just as. I will tell you 
the story just as I heard it, is translated Je vous dirai Vhistoire telle 
que je l'ai entendue. 

4. Prix means both price and prize. 

8. Many proper nouns differ in the two languages. Christopher 
Columbus is Christophe Colomb. 

9. Tout & l'heure. Used with a past tense this expression means 
just now, a little while ago. "With a future tense it means shortly, 
presently, in a little ivhile. 

10. Do not confuse le poison and le poisson. 

11. Je crois que oui. An idiom. I think not, is translated je 
crois que non. 

10, 11. Si also means whether (if in the sense of whether). 



154 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



For Translation 

1. Has your brother received the letter he was waiting 
for ? I think not. The postman brought only one letter 
this morning. Here is the letter he brought. It is for 
Louise, do you see ? 

2. Was it the doctor who was here a little while ago ? 
I think so. Yes, John says it was he. 

3. Have you caught many fish ? We have caught six. 
They are all small. Here is the one I caught. There 
are the ones that Frank caught. Here is an eel that I 
caught. 

4. Tell me the story just as you heard it. Did you find 
the house just as you had left it? 

5. Who discovered America? Christopher Columbus 
discovered it in 1492. 

6. Who opened these windows? I do not know who 
opened them. They were open when I came into the 
room. 

7. We have received answers from all those gentlemen. 
We received them yesterday. They accept the invitation. 

8. Do you know whether the maid has put those 
pens on my table? She says she put them in the little 
drawer. 

9. Have you eaten onions ? I ate a raw onion a little 
while ago. Have you any ham ? We have some very good 
ham. Here is a fine slice. 

10. My little brother has written a letter to our aunt. 
He wrote it all alone. He is only seven, you know. It isn't 
badly written. 

11. We were blinded by the dust. She was blinded by 
the dust. They were marching in a whirl of dust. 

12. Here's what we ate : a piece of bread and a few 
apples. It wasn't much. 

13. I thought she was gone. Why didn't she go with 
the others ? She says she was not invited. 



DATIVE PRONOUNS 155 

14. Here is a thing I learned this morning. You know 
that Louis was sick yesterday. Well {Eh lien), it was 
because he had eaten some apples that were not ripe. 

15. There are the two forts that the English burned. 

16. How many sentences have you written ? Which are 
the sentences which you have translated ? 

17. Everybody loved her. She died regretted by all her 
friends. 

18. Where is my hat ? Here it is. Where are my keys ? 
There they are. 



LESSON XLI 



1. He gives me a present II me donne un cadeau tous 

every year. les ans. 

What does he give you ? Que te donne-t-il ? 

I gave him my watch. Je lui ai donne ma montre. 

I gave her my watch. Je lui ai donne ma montre. 

a. The personal pronoun, indirect object of the verb, 
is placed before the verb. 

b. The case of such a pronoun is called the Dative 
Case. The English Dative pronouns sometimes have to 
before them, sometimes not. / gave the watch to Mm, or 
I gave him the watch. 

2. Table of Conjunctive or Unstressed 

Personal Pronouns 

DATIVE 

Sing. Plural. 

First person, me nous 

Second person, te vous 

Third person, lui leur 

Third person reflexive, se se 



156 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. Lui as a disjunctive or stressed pronoun is mas- 
culine. 

With him, avec lui. With her, avec elle. 

It is he, c'est lui. It is she, c'est elle. 

As a conjunctive pronoun it is of either gender. 

4. Leur is either a personal pronoun, as above, or a 

possessive adjective or a possessive pronoun. 

Their book, leur livre. 

Their friends, leurs amis. 

It is theirs, c'est le leur. 

5. Give me, Donnez-moi. 
Give him, Donnez-lui. 
Give her, Donnez-lui. 
Give us, Donnez-nous. 
Show to them, Montrez-leur. 

The dative pronouns are placed after the Im- 
perative Affirmative. 

6. Do as you like. Faites comme vous voudrez. 
As you please. Comme il vous plaira. 

Give him what he asks Donnez-lui ce qu'il deman- 
for. dera. 

The future tense is used in dependent clauses 
when futurity is implied. 

Notes. — a. je voudrai is the future of vouloir. 

h. il vous plaira means it shall please you. 

7. He asked his father for II a demande une bicyclette 

a bicycle. & son pere. 

What did he ask you for ? Que vous a-t-il demande ? 

The person asked becomes in French the indirect 
object governed by a. 

The thing asked for is the direct object of the 
verb demander. 



THE DATIVE PRONOUNS 157 

EXERCISE 

1. Maintenant que me voila, qu'avez-vous a me dire ? 

2. Les voila partis ! Dieu sait quand nous les reverrons ! 

3. Voila les fleurs qu'elle aime. Mettez-les dans le vase, 
la sur la cheminee. 

4. Voici deux verbes qui demandent la preposition a 
devant leur complement : obeir et repondre. 

5. Repetez-moi cette phrase. 

6. Yoyant que sa mere etait tres fatiguee — Prenez-moi 
le bras, lui dit-il. 

7. J'ai demande a ton frere une petite somme pour mes 
pauvres. Je le savais genereux, et j'etais sur qu'il ne me 
refuserait pas ce que je lui demandais. 

8. Le maitre nous a lu les noms de ceux qui avaient 
passe l'examen, et puis la liste de ceux qui auraient a passer 
un second examen avant d'etre promus. Francois et moi, 
nous etions de ces derniers. 

9. II nous a demande de l'argent. Mon frere et moi, 
nous lui avons donne trois francs cliacun. 

10. Eapprochez votre chaise. Mon oncle va nous racon- 
ter une histoire. 

11. Demandez-lui ce qu'il me veut ; je suis tres occupe 
en ce moment. 

12. Voulez-vous sortir avec eux ; ou aimez-vous mieux 
rester ici avec nous ? Cela m'est parfaitement egal. 

13. Ces deux garcons sont tres heureux. Leur pere leur 
a donne a chacun une bicyclette. 

VOCABULARY 

le complement, the comple- la chemin6e, the mantelpiece, 

ment, object. chimney, smoke-stack. 

6gal, 6gale, ) parfait, parfaite, perfect. 

6gaux, 6gales, j ^ ' ' raconter, to tell, narrate, relate, 

rapprocher, to draiv up, recount. 

bring near. la somme, the sum. 



158 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes. — 2. Dieu is here best translated Heaven. Reverrons ; je 
reverrai is the future of revoir, to see again. 

11. II me veut. Here the English idiom is of me. 

EXERCISE 

1. Now that we are here, what have you to say to us ? 
What did he say to you ? Do not ask me what he said to me. 

2. I do not know whether I shall ever see him again. 
You will see him again, I am sure. Heaven knows whether 
we shall ever see her again. 

3. The verb obeir requires the preposition a before its 
complement. John always obeys his parents. He always 
obeys them. Did the teacher tell you to translate all the 
French sentences at home ? Yes. Did you obey him ? 
Obey your mother. We always obey her. Obey my orders. 

4. Your sister spoke to you. Answer her. I did answer 
her as soon as she spoke to me. 

5. Eepeat the question for me, please. 

6. She took his arm. I took his arm. Did he take your 
arm? 

7. We were talking with the officer. We asked him to 
give Louis permission to go out for an hour or two. 

8. Ask him for the books. Has he not given you back 
the books which you lent him ? Did you ask your aunt for 
the money ? I never ask her for anything. 

9. Did he refuse you the permission you asked him for ? 
I was sure he would not refuse you anything. 

10. Eead me the names of all the pupils. Now read me 
the names of all those who have passed the examination. 

11. Nobody gave me anything. No one spoke to me. 
No one said anything to her. No one spoke to them. 

12. Tell us a story. Did he tell you a story? Tell us 
the story just as he told it to the others. We drew up our 
chairs, and our uncle told us a charming story. 

13. It is all the same to me. It is all the same to her. 
Is it all the same to you? It was all the same to them. 



POSITION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS 159 

14. Did you ask your father for a bicycle ? What did 
he answer ? He says he will give me a bicycle next week. 

15. Give him something. Don't give him anything. 
Don't ask him for anything, because he won't give you 
anything. 

VOCABULARY 

An order, un ordre. Charming, charmant, char- 

mante. 



LESSON XLII 



1. He has given it to me. II me Fa donne. 

He has found your pen. II a trouve votre plume. 
He will give it to you. II vous la donnera. 

When both a dative and an accusative pronoun 
are used before a verb, they are placed as in the 
following table, which the student is advised to 
learn by heart : 



me le, 


nous le, 


me la, 


nous la, 


me les. 


nous les. 


te le, 


vous le, 


te la, 


vous la, 


te les. 


vous les. 


se le, 


se le, 


se la, 


se la, 


se les. 


se les. 


le lui, 


le leur, 


la lui, 


la leur, 


les lui. 


les leur. 



Note.— The forms with se are put here for completeness. The use 
of this reflexive pronoun will be explained later. 



160 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. Conditional Past 

FINIE- SORTIE, 

j'aurais fini, I should have je serais sorti, I should have 

finished. gone out. 

tu aurais fini, tu serais sorti, 

il aurait fini, il serait sorti, 

nous aurions fini, nous serions sortis, 

vous auriez fini, vous seriez sorti(s), 

ils auraient fini. ils seraient sortis. 

3. If I had had the time Si j'avais eu le temps 

I should have finished j'aurais fini le livre hier. 
the book yesterday. 
We should have gone out Nous serions sortis ce matin 
this morning if the si le temps avait ete* beau, 

weather had been fine. 

a. The chief use of the conditional past is in connection 
with a supposition contrary to fact. (In the two sentences 
above we see that "I had not time" and that "The weather 
was not fine") 

0. "When the verb in the conclusion is in the Conditional 
Past, the verb in the supposition is usually in the Pluperfect 
Indicative. 

4. If he arrives on time S'il arrive a temps 

he will accompany us. il nous accompagnera. 

He said that II a dit que 

if he should arrive on time s'il arrivait a temps 

he would accompany us. il nous accompagnerait. 
If he had arrived on time S'il 6tait arrive* a temps 

he would have accom- il nous aurait accompagnes. 

panied us. 

EXERCISE 

1. Si tu fais cette gageure, tu perdras ton argent. 

2. Si j'ai le temps je copierai toute la lecon. 

3. Louis a dit que s'il avait le temps il copierait toute la 



POSITION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS 161 

lecon. Louis a dit que s'il avait eu le temps il aurait copie 
toute la lecon. 

4. Ne vous Pai-je pas dit? Elle serait arrivee il y a 
longtemps, si elle n'avait pas cru que nous allions chez elle. 

5. Je n'aurais jamais ose le lui dire comme vous avez 
fait. Vous avez une facon de dire carrement aux gens ce 
que vous pensez. Au moins vous etes franc ! J'aurais ete 
un peu vexe si vous etiez venu me parler de la sorte. 

6. Nous vous aurions attendu si nous avions cru que 
vous alliez arriver. Pourquoi n'avez-vous pas envoye un 
mot pour nous le dire ? 

7. Je ne leur aurais pas accorde cette permission. Pas 
a eux, je sais. Mais a moi ? Ma vous non plus. 

8. Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils sont restes si longtemps ? Je 
ne serais pas reste aussi longtemps a leur place. C'est moi 
qui les ai pries de rester. 

9. Est-ce que cette lettre lui est parvenue? Oui, je la 
lui ai envoyee moi-meme. Du reste, je sais par Frederic 
qu'il l'a eue. 

10. Qui vous a donne cette jolie bague ? Mon pere me 
Pa donnee. 

11. Voyez-vous ces belles roses ? C'est Monsieur Angier 
qui nous les a envoyees. 

VOCABULARY 

cru (past part, of croire), be- la gageure, the wager (§ 22, 7). 

lieved. la facon, the tvay, manner. 

carr6ment, squarely, bluntly, de la sorte, in that way. 

au moins, at least. parvenu (past part, of par- 
du reste, moreover. venir), reached, come. 

oser, to dare. 

Notes. — 4. Le with dire and penser or croire is often expressed in 
English by so. He said so, he thought so, are translated il l'a dit, il 
le croyait. 

7. Note that when the verb is omitted the dative pronoun is replaced 
by a + a stress-pronoun. 



162 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

For Translation 

1. Would they have ? Would they give ? 

Would they have given ? 
Wouldn't you have ? Wouldn't you give ? 

Would you not have given ? 
Will he have ? Will he give ? 

Will he not give ? 
Should we give ? Should we have ? 

Should we have given ? 
Should we not give ? Should we not have ? 

Should we not have given ? 

2. If I had the money, I should give it to you. If I had 
had the money, I should have given it to you. If you had 
the money, would you give it to him ? If you had had the 
money, would you not have given it to him ? 

3. Those roses are Mary's. John gave them to her. 
That ring is mine. My father gave it to me. Take this 
pen. I give it to you. Lend me your pen. Did you lend 
him your pen ? I lent it to him. 

4. Who gave you those flowers ? Lucien gave them to 
us. They asked me for the flowers. I gave them to them. 
Would you have given them to me if I had asked you for 
them ? 

5. We should not have stayed so long if Louis had not 
told us that his "brother would arrive this afternoon. 

6. The doctor came to-day. Who told you so? My 
mother told me so a moment ago ? 

7. If he has time he will visit us next week. If we had 
had time, we should have visited you last week. If she 
had had time, she would have visited us, wouldn't she ? I 
think so. 

8. I try to be frank, but I should not dare to speak to 
people as you spoke to your friend yesterday. I told him 
what I thought ; that is all. He asked me my opinion ; I 
told it to him squarely. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE 163 

9. He would have waited for you if lie had thought you 
wished to go with us. Didn't you say this morning that 
you were going to stay home all day ? 

10. My brother has your pen. If you ask him for it he 
will give it back to you. 

11. If the weather is fine I shall go out to-morrow. He 
told me that if the weather were fine he should go out 
to-morrow. The children would have gone out this morn- 
ing if the weather had been fine. 

12. If they arrive on time, they will accompany you. 
You would have accompanied us if you had arrived on 
time, wouldn't you ? 



LESSON XLIII 

1. Give it to me, Donnez-le-moi. 

With the Imperative affirmative the pronouns 
follow the verb. 

Donnez-le-moi, Donnez-le-nous, 

Donnez-la-moi, Donnez-la-nous, 

Donnez-les-moi, Donnez-les-nous, 

Donne z-le-lui, Donnez-le-leur, 

Donnez-la-lui, Donnez-la-leur, 

Donnez-les-lui, Donnez-les-leur. 

2. I must have, il faut que j'aie. 

I must be, il faut que je sois. 

3. Pkese^t Subjunctive of 

AVOIR 
j'aie, nous ayons, 

tu aies, vous ayez, 

il ait, ils aient. 



164 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Peesekt Subjunctive op 

ETRE 
je sois, nous soyons, 

tu sois, vous soyez, 

il soit, ils soient. 

4. The Subjunctive mode has a variety of uses. 

5. To translate must in the present tense, use the 
impersonal verb il faut followed by the conjunction 
que and the Subjunctive mode, present tense, of the 
verb in question. 

He must have, il faut qu'il ait. 

She must not have, il ne faut pas qu'elle ait. 

Must we be ? f aut-il que nous soyons ? 

Must you not be ? ne faut-il pas que vous soyez? 

6. Imperative op 
AVOIR ETRE 

aie, ayons, ayez. sois, soyons, soyez. 

7. He turned his head II tourna la tete du cote du 

toward the wall. mur. 

He turned his back on us. H nous tourna le dos. 
His back was toward us. II nous tournait le dos. 

The Definite Article is used in French where the 
English usually has a possessive, when there is no 
doubt as to the possessor. This applies especially 
to parts of the body. 

8. He is cutting the men's II coupe les cheveux aux hom- 

hair. mes. 

He is cutting their hair. II leur coupe les cheveux. 

The Possessor is frequently indicated in such 
sentences by a Dative. 



SPECIAL USES OF THE ARTICLE 165 

9. He will not fall ; lie is II ne tombera pas ; il a le pied 
sure-footed and cool- sur, et la tete froide. 
headed. 
The vulture has a curved Le vautour a le bee recourbe. 
beak. 

The Definite Article is used after avoir before 
the noun in expressions of personal description. 

EXERCISE 

1. Ayez la bonte de me passer le sucre. Merci. 
Ayons patience. II ne tardera pas_a nous donner de 

ses nouvelles. 

2. Soyez plus indulgent. Pardonnez-lui sa faute. Je 
suis sur qu'il la regrette. 

3. Soyons polis envers tout le monde. 

4. Cendrillon, tu trouveras six lezards dans le jardin, 
pres du pommier ; apporte-les-moi. Cendrillon les apporta, 
et la fee les changea en six laquais qui monterent aussitot 
sur le carrosse. 

5. Ayez soin de ces verres. ~Ne les laissez pas tomber. 
Mettez-les ici. Donnez-les-moi un a un. En voila un que 
vous avez casse. 

6. Le prince descendit Pescalier pour recevoir Cendrillon, 
qui avait Pair d'une grande princesse. II lui donna la main 
pour descendre du carrosse. 

7. Le notaire va dresser Pacte aujourd'hui. II faut que 
vous soyez la vous-meme pour le signer. 

8. Ma robe n'est-elle pas prete? Mais il faut absolu- 
ment que je Paie demain. Envoyez-la-moi avant midi, 
sans faute. 

9. Les mandarins portent les ongles tres longs pour mon- 
trer qu'ils ne travaillent point. 

10. Les gens qui habitent le nord de PEurope ont les 
yeux bleus et les cheveux blonds, tandis que ceux qui habi- 
tent le midi ont les yeux et les cheveux noirs. 



166 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

11. Le rhinoceros a la peau tres epaisse et tres dure. 

12. Je vous remercie de votre bonte. Soyez sur que je 
ne l'oublierai pas. 

13. Ayez l'obligeance de me prevenir lorsque vous fixerez 
le jour de votre depart. 

14. A quelle heure faut-il que nous soyons a la gare? 
Le train part a deux heures vingt. Soyez a la gare a deux 
lieures dix. 

15. Une balle lui a perce le coeur ; sa mort a ete instan- 
tanee. 

VOCABULARY 

un acte, an act, deed. Cendrillon, Cinderella (§ 52, 6). 

le carrosse, the carriage. demain, to-morrow. 

dur, dure, hard, tough. dresser, to draw up. 

6pais, 6paisse, thick. la f6e, the fairy. 

fixer, to set, fix. l'obligeance (fern.), kindness, 
le laquais, the lackey. politeness. 

le 16zard, the lizard. pr6venir, to notify. 

un ongle, a finger-nail. remercier, to thank. 

le sucre, the sugar. la robe, the gown. 
la bonte, the kindness, good- tarder, to delay, to le late, 

ness. tandis que, whereas, ivhile. 
le verre, the glass. 

Xotes. — 1. De ses nouvelles : Idiom. Hence news of me is de 
mes nouvelles. 

2. Pardonnez-lui. The person forgiven is expressed by a Dative 
pronoun, or noun with &. The thing forgiven is the direct object of 
pardonner. 

4. Changer en. After change (changer) into is rendered by en. 

5. Avoir soin : Idiom ; to take care. 
8. Sans faute, ivithout fail. 

Le cote, the side. 

A cote de. alongside of, beside. 

De cote, aside. 

Du cote de, in the direction of. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE 167 



For Translation 

1. Have the kindness to pass your brother the sugar. 
2. Be patient. They will not be slow in letting us hear 
from them. Don't be anxious. Try to have patience. 3. 
Forgive your enemies. Ask your father's forgiveness. If 
you regret your fault he will forgive you for it. Has he 
asked your forgiveness ? 4. You must always be polite to 
every one. 5. The fairy said to Cinderella, " Bring me six 
lizards. You will find them in the garden." When Cin- 
derella had brought the lizards the fairy changed them 
into footmen. 6. Cinderella arrived at the palace in her 
magnificent coach. She looked like a great princess. The 
prince came down the stairs to receive her. She alighted 
from her carriage and ascended the staircase with him. 
7. My dress must be ready to-morrow morning. I must 
have it before noon. 8. The Greeks wore their hair long. 
To-day men wear their hair short. Why do the mandarins 
wear their finger-nails long ? It is to show that they do not 
work. 9. The prince has blue eyes and blond hair. The 
peoples who inhabit the south of Europe have dark hair 
and eyes, while those who live in the north have light hair 
and blue eyes. 10. Take care of those books ; they belong 
to the professor. Do not let them fall. 11. At what hour 
must we be there ? We must all be there at ten o'clock. 
12. Send the books to our house. We must have them this 
evening without fail. 13. The elephant has a very thick, 
tough hide. 14. I thank you with (de) all my heart for 
what you have done for me. 15. At what time must you 
have this dress ? Send it to me at three o'clock. 16. The 
soldier had his back toward me. The soldier turned his 
back on me. 17. Cut my hair, if you please. He cut my 
little boy's hair this morning. 



12 



168 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

LESSON XLIV 

1. He sells them at three II les vend a trois francs la 

francs a dozen. douzaine. 

That silk is worth twenty Cette soie vaut vingt francs 
francs a meter. le metre. 

Nouns of weight and measure with distributive 
sense have the Definite Article. 

2. We have a French lesson Nous avons une lecon de fran- 

five times a week. cais cinq fois par semaine. 

With nouns of time, par is usual in such sentences. 

3. Half the army. La moitie de l'armee. 
Two- thirds of the sol- Les deux tiers des soldats. 

diers. 

The Definite Article is used before the names of 
fractional parts. 

4. Doctor Teissier has ar- Le docteur Teissier est arrive. 

rived. 
General Gallifet has re- Le general Gallifet a donne 
signed. sa demission. 

The Definite Article is used before a title and a 
proper name. 

5. France is hounded on the La France est bornee au midi 

south by the Pyrenees, par les Pyrenees, qui la sepa- 

which separate it from rent de l'Espagne. 
Spain. 

Where is Lake Leman ? Ou est le lac Leman ? 

Have you seen Vesuvius ? Avez-vous vu le Vesuve ? 

The Definite Article precedes the names of coun- 
tries, states, provinces, large islands, lakes, mountains, 
(Exception below.) 



SPECIAL USES OF THE ARTICLE 



169 



In Germany. 

To France. 

The kingdom of Spain. 

French wine. 

He comes from France. 



En Allemagne. 

En France. 

Le royaume d'Espagne. 

Du vin de France. 

II vient de France. 



After en before the name of a country there is 
no article. En is used only before names of coun- 
tries which are feminine singular, and which are 
used without an adjunct. 

After de meaning from, and when de -f- the 
name of the country equals an adjective, there is 
no article. 



7. He is going to the United 

States. 
Japan has become a great 
power. 

8. He opened the door, and, 

strange to relate, the 
room was empty. 
Anne - Louise - Germaine 
Necker, the daughter 
of the banker, married 
Baron de Stael - Hol- 
stein, the Swedish am- 
bassador to France. 



II va aux Etats-Unis. 

Le Japon est devenu 
grande puissance. 



une 



II ouvrit la porte, et, chose 
singuliere, la chambre etait 
vide. 

Anne-Louise-Germaine dec- 
ker, fille du banquier, 
epousa le baron de Stael- 
Hol stein, ambassadeur de 
Suede en France. 



A noun in apposition, or thrown in parenthetic- 
ally, has no article. 

9. The richer he becomes, Plus il deyient riche, moins il 
the less generous he is. est genereux. 

There is no article with the comparatives in 
correlative clauses. 



170 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

EXERCISE 

1. Chacune des grandes puissances w europeennes essaie 
d'etendre la sphere de son^influence en^Afrique et en^Asie. 

2. II y a des^animaux bien^etranges en w Australie. Le 
kangourou vient d'Australie. 

3. Les Etats-Unis sont dans 1'Amerique du nord. Le 
Bresil est le plus grand pays de 1'Amerique du sud. 

4. Plus on voyage, plus on etend ses connaissances. 

5. Cette soie est tres chere, ma sceur l'a payee cinquante 
francs le metre. 

6. Ce monsieur ne prend que deux repas par jour. Cela 
ne me suffirait pas, a moi. 

7. J'ai ete au Canada une fois lorsque j'ai visite les 
chutes de Niagara. 

8. Est-ce le journal d'aujourd'hui ? Y a-t-il des nouvelles 
de l'amiral Ceryera ? 

9. Le docteur Lassalle arrivera de la campagne demain. 
Tu le consulteras, n'est-ce pas ? 

10. Le souverain de la Turquie s'appelle le sultan. 

11. Quelle est la capitale de la Suisse ? C'est Berne. Nous 
avons passe par Berne lors de notre dernier voyage en Suisse. 

12. Elisabeth, fille du roi Henri VIII d'Angleterre, suc- 
ceda a sa soeur Marie. Celle-ci avait epouse Philippe II, 
roi d'Espagne. Philippe, apres l'avenement au trone de 
la reine Elisabeth, essaya de conquerir l'Angleterre. Sa 
flotte fut detruite dans la Manche par l'amiral Drake. 

VOCABULARY 

l'avenement (m.), the accession, la connaissance, knoivledge, 
d6truit, detruite (past part.), acquaintance, 

destroyed. la chute, the fall. 

6trange, strange, queer. epouser, to ived, marry. 

lors de, at the time of. 6tendre, to stretch, extend. 

le repas, the meal. la flotte, the fleet. 

le sud (d sounded), the south, suffire, to suffice, to be enough. 

l'Angleterre (f.), England. la Suisse, Sivitzerland. 



SPECIAL USES OF THE ARTICLE 171 

Notes. — 1. Voyager is to travel, whether by land or sea. So 
un voyage is either a journey or a voyage. Travailler is to toil, to 
work. Une journee is a day. Connaissances is here in the plural. 
Translate by the singular. Abstract nouns are often plural in French 
where the English requires the singular. 

5. l'a payee, paid for it. The thing paid for is often the direct 
object of payer. 

6. a moi; to emphasize a personal pronoun, it is repeated after 
the verb. A disjunctive pronoun is then used. 

12. Succeder, to succeed, to come after. Reussir, to succeed, 
meaning to have success. Succeder requires a. 



For Translation 

1. How many hours do you work a day? We work 
seven hours a day. How many meals do you take a day ? 
We take three. 

2. How much does that silk cost a meter ? It is worth 
fifteen francs a meter. 

3. How many times a week do you have a French les- 
son ? We have one every day except Saturday and Sunday. 
This is to say, five lessons a week. 

4. Half the house burned down. Two-thirds of the 
class were absent. A fourth of the army perished. Three- 
fourths of these pens are bad. Two of the generals resigned. 
General Grant became President of the United States. 

5. France is bounded on the south by Spain ; on the 
north it is bounded by the English Channel, which sep- 
arates it from England. Germany is bounded on the 
south by Switzerland and Austria. 

6. Vesuvius is in Italy. Italy is a kingdom. Rome is 
the capital of Italy. This wine comes from Italy. 

7. Whon did you arrive in the United States ? I came 
to the United States twenty-four years ago. 

8. Have you ever visited Japan ? It is a very interest- 
ing country. Japan is the land of flowers. When I visited 
Japan three years ago there was a war between Japan and 
China. 



172 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

9. Canada is in North America. The Falls of Niagara 
are the greatest in the world. I visited them last summer. 
The more I looked at them, the greater they seemed to me. 
Dr. Armand was with me then. 

10. Lake Leman is in Switzerland. It is the largest 
lake in Switzerland. There are not many very large lakes 
in Europe. The largest lake in the world is in Asia. Asia 
is the largest of the continents. 

11. The more I give you, the more you ask me for. 

12. His uncle, a very generous man, gave him a large 
sum of money. 

13. The more friends you have, the happier you will be. 

14. This gentleman comes to America twice a year. He 
likes America better than Europe. Usually each one likes 
his own country best. 

15. Kindly fill my glass. Do you like this wine ? It is 
Italian wine. 

16. The king of England succeeded his mother in 1900. 

Note. — 4. Down is not expressed here. 



LESSON XLV 



1. AYe talked of it a long Nous en avons cause longue- 

time. ment. 

Has he any friends here ? A-t-il des amis ici ? 

He has lots of them. II en a beaucoup. 

How many of the books Combien des livres avez-vous 

did you take ? pris ? 

I took three. J'en ai pris trois. 

If I find any flowers I Si je trouve des fleurs je vous 

shall give you some. en donnerai. 

En is a pronoun in the above sentences. The 
pronoun en is equivalent to a noun preceded by the 
preposition de. 



THE PRONOUN EN 173 

2. Have you bread ? Avez-vous die pain ? 
I have. J'en ai. 

Was he accused of treason? A-t-il ete accuse de trahison ? 
He was. II en a ete accuse. 

En is always expressed, not left to be understood, 
as its English equivalents frequently are. 

3. En is placed before the verb. If other pronouns 
are placed before the verb, en is always last. 

But with the imperative affirmative, of course, 
en is placed after the verb. 

4. En usually refers to things, though sometimes to 
persons. 

Louis wearies me ; I've Louis me fatigue, j'en ai assez. 
enough of him. 

EXERCISE 

1. II mit sa main dans sa poche et il en tira un porte- 
monnaie. 

2. C'est_un w excellent garcon ! il n'y en w a pas deux^au 
monde comme lui ! 

3. Voyez-vous ce garcon ? En voila un qui a de la 
chance ! 

4. C'etait trop de malheurs a la fois ! Elle en a ete 
serieusement et longuement malade. 

5. Pourquoi faut-il que vous ayez ce ruban-la ? II y en 
a tant d'autres que vous pouvez choisir. 

6. Avez-vous jamais vu une baleine ? Je n'en ai ja- 
mais vu. 

7. Qui a mange ces cerises? J'en ai mange, mais je ne 
les ai pas mange es toutes. 

8. Quelles especes d'arbres y a-t-il dans votre verger? 
H y en a de toutes sortes. Comment ! de toutes sortes. 
Eh bien, il y a des pommiers, des poiriers, des abricotiers. 
Vous voyez qu'il n'y en a pas tant, apres tout. 



174 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

9. II m'a emprunte cent francs ; il m'a assure qu'il en 
avait besoin. Moi aussi je lui en ai prete cent il y a dix 
jours. Vous voyez, il emprunte a tout le monde. 

10. Vous allez avec nous, j'en suis bien aise. 

11. J'avais une grande quantite de papier, mais il ne 
m'en reste pas beaucoup a present. 

12. Avez-vous distribue tous les cahiers ? Non, il m'en 
reste quelques-uns. Combien vous en reste-t-il ? Comptez- 
les. II m'en reste huit. Donnez-en deux a Louis. II en 
aura besoin. 

13. Avez-vous assez de craie ? Combien y en a-t-il ? II 
y en a une boite toute pleine, et une autre boite a moitie 
pleine. 

14. J'ai des bon-bons. En voulez-vous? Moi, je n'en 
mange jamais ; Suzanne les aime. Donnez-lui-en. 

15. Voila des fruits. Prenez-en, je vous prie. Ceux-la 
ne sont pas bons. N'en prenez pas. Ceux-ci sont murs. 
Prenez-en tant que vous voudrez. 

VOCABULARY 

bien aise (adj.), glad. le ruban, the ribbon. 

un abricotier, an apricot- la baleine, the whale. 

tree. la chance, luck, good luck. 

le besoin, the need. une espece, a hind, sort, species. 

avoir besoin, to need. a la fois, at one time, at once. 

emprunter, to borrow. vous pouvez, you can. 

le malheur, the misfortune, le verger, the orchard. 

le porte-monnaie, the purse, tirer, to draw, to draw out. 

le prunier, the plum-tree. la poche, pocket. 

Notes. — 1. Porte-monnaie. There are many compound nouns in 
French made by combining a verb-stem and a noun. Other examples 
are porte-voix, speaking-tube ; garde-robe, wardrobe ; garde-malade, 
nurse ; trouble-fete, disturber ; pince-nez, eye-glasses. Except garde- 
robe, they are all masculine. 

4. At once, meaning immediately, is tout de suite. 

6, 7. The past participle can not agree with en before the verb. 



THE PRONOUN EN 175 

9. Emprunter requires the person borrowed from to be in the 
dative. Hence with a noun it requires the preposition a. 
11, 12. II reste is here impersonal, there remains. 

General Note 

He comes from Paris. II vient de Paris. 

He comes from there. II en vient. 

En is from the Latin inde, meaning from there. All its other 
meanings and uses are derived from this original adverbial meaning. 
J'en ai pris means i" have taken from there — that is, from the pile, 
from the number ; hence, I have taken some. 

For Translation 

1. How many rooms are there in this honse ? There are 
fifteen. Here is my brother's room. I have a smaller one. 

2. Haven't the boys any copy-books ? Yes, they have. 
I gave them some yesterday. Louis says he has none. 

3. Why do you take my pens ? Aren't there any others 
in the drawer ? There are some, but they are not as good 
as yours. 

4. He took the money, so I suppose he needed it. Be 
sure of it. 

5. Will you lend me your dictionary ? Don't you need 
it ? I don't need it to-day. 

6. Are there enough dictionaries for the whole class? 
There are not enough. How many are there ? I distributed 
twenty. How many of the pupils have none ? There are 
five who have none. 

7. The butter was not good ; I did not buy any. 

8. How much did he borrow from you ? He asked me 
for a hundred francs, but I lent him only fifty. 

9. He says he has no money. He had plenty yesterday. 
He hasn't a cent of it left. 

10. When she told me that she had received news of 
her brother I told her I was very glad of it. 

11. Did he talk to you of his trip to England? He 
talked of it a long time. 



176 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



12. Here are some oranges. Take as many as you wish. 
Choose the hest of them. Have you enough ? I have 
enough, thank you. Have you eaten any ? I have not 
eaten any of them yet. 

13. Are you sure of what you say? I am j)erfectly sure 
of it. 

14. How many passed the examination? Here is the 
list of them. There are more than last year. 



LESSON XLVI 
1. Subjunctive Pkesent of the Thkee Conjugations 



je porte, 
tu portes, 
il porte, 
nous portions, 
vous portiez, 
ils portent. 



je finisse, 
tu finisses, 
il finisse, 
nous finissions, 
vous finissiez, 
ils finissent. 



je rende, 
tu rendes, 
il rende, 
nous rendions, 
vous rendiez, 
ils rendent. 



2. FOKMATION OF SUBJUNCTIVE PkESENT. 

The Subjunctive Present is formed from the pres- 
ent participle by changing ant into the endings 



-e, 



We must carry him. 
Must you finish it to-day ? 

We may arrive before 

you. 
It is possible that he has 

accomplished a great 

deal. 



-ions, 

-iez, 

-ent. 

II faut que nous le portions. 
Faut-il que vous le finissiez 

aujourd'hui. 
II se peut que nous arrivions 

avant vous. 
II se peut qu'il ait accompli 

beaucoup. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE 177 

II se peut is an impersonal verb, expressing possi- 
bility. It requires the subjunctive. 

Impersonal verbs expressing doubt, possibility, 
necessity, suitability, require the subjunctive after 
them. 

Such are : 

il est juste, it is right. 

il est douteux, it is doubtful. 

il est bon, it is good, desirable. 

il faut, (must). 

il se peut, (mag), it is possible. 

il est possible, it is possible. 

il convient, it is fitting, proper. 

4. Past Subjunctive of 

finir arriver 

j'aie fini, je sois arrive, 

tu aies fini, tu sois arrive, 

il ait fini, il soit arrive, 

nous ayons fini, nous soyons arrives, 

vous ayez fini, vous soyez arrive (arrives), 

ils aient fini. ils soient arrives. 

EXERCISE 

1. II n'est guere possible qu'il soit deja arrive. 

2. II faut que nous^attendions son retour. 

3. A qui faut-il que je rende cet argent? Eends-le a 
mon frere. 

4. II est douteux qu'il reussisse dans cette entreprise ; 
il a pourtant reussi la ou bien d'autres ont echoue. 

5. II est juste que tu rendes ce qu'on t'a prete. Eends- 
le done puisqu'on te le redemande. 

6. A quelle heure faut-il que nous finissions le travail? 
A l'heure que vous voudrez. II faut que vous le finissiez 
aujourd'hui, voila tout. 



178 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. N'est-il pas juste qu'il defende ses interets ? 

8. II est bon que ce jeuue homme reflechisse uu peu sur 
ce qu'il va entreprendre. II est presque impossible qu'il 
reussisse. Eh bien, moi, je suis sur qu'il reussira. Vous 
voulez toujours decourager les gens. 

9. II convient que les jeunes gens soient toujours respec- 
tueux envers ceux qui sont plus ages qu'eux. 

10. Se peut-il qu'il ait manque le bateau ? Mais dans ce 
cas il aurait telegraphie. Qu'en pensez-vous? 

11. II est preferable que nous restions amis, qu'en dites- 
vous? 

12. II n'est que juste que nous ecoutions son explication. 
II est probable qu'il est coupable, mais il se peut qu'il prouve 
son innocence. 

13. A qui pensez-yous ? Je pense a mon pauvre frere. 
Je pense a lui bien souvent. 

VOCABULARY 

ag6, ag6e, old. une entreprise, an undertaking. 

coupable, guilty. entreprendre, to undertake. 

douteux, douteuse, doubtful, une explica,tion,an explanation. 

6chouer, to fail. l'innocence (f.), innocence. 

un int6ret, an interest. respectueux, respecteuse, re- 
pourtant, hoicever, yet. specif til. 

Notes. — 4. La ou. When the adverb where is a kind of double rela- 
tive, the French use la ou. La refers to the verb in the main clause 
and ou to the verb in the dependent clause. 

10. Penser, meaning to direct your thought toward, takes the 
preposition a ; meaning to have an opinion about, the preposition de. 

For Translation 

1. Is it possible that he has arrived before us? Why 
not; he started earlier, didn't he? Yes; but he had 
several errands to do. 

2. Is it possible that he failed in that undertaking ? He 
used to talk of it so much, and he seemed so sure of success, 
I really believed that he would succeed. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE 179 

3. You must succeed ; it is not possible that you should 
fail. So you believe that I shall succeed where a better 
man than I has failed. 

4. It is right that we should defend our interests, isn't 
it ? Yes ; but do not forget that others have interests too. 

5. You believe him guilty, but you must prove that he 
is guilty. 

6. To whom must I give this letter ? Give it to the 
maid who opens the door for you. 

7. If Charles is trying to learn French, you must not dis- 
courage him. 

8. It is well for you to reflect a little on what you are 
going to say to him. 

9. Can they have missed the train ? It is likely. In 
that case they will telegraph us, won't they ? 

10. It is proper that we should be respectful toward 
them, for they are older than we. 

11. Must we invite the whole family ? What do you say 
about it ? 

12. It is doubtful whether he will wait for us. I am 
sure that he will wait for us. 

13. You must forgive him. Why? He has never asked 
my forgiveness. 

14. Is it possible that he sells that silk so cheap ? 

15. I must finish my exercises this afternoon. 

16. It is scarcely possible that they have already started. 
They started much later the last time. 

17. We have no chalk ; you must buy some. 

18. Is it possible that you chose these ribbons ? What a 
color ! What does Marie think of it ? 

19. Were you thinking of me ? I was thinking of you. 
That is very flattering. 



180 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSON XLVII 



1. Have you ever been in Avez-vous jamais ete en Italie? 

Italy? 

I have never been there. Je n'y ai jamais ete. 

What time did you get to A quelle heure etes-vous arrive 

school? al'ecole? 

I gob there at nine o'clock. J'y suis arrive a neuf heures. 

Y is an adverb or an adverbial pronoun. Like 
the unstressed personal pronouns it is placed before 
the verb, except when the verb is in the imperative 
affirmative. 

2. Put the chair there, in Mettez la chaise la, dans le 

the corner. coin. 

La is also translated by there (or thither). La is 
used when the place is actually pointed out, or 
when there is special emphasis upon the word. 

3. Think of his grief. Pensez a sa douleur. 
I do think of it. J'y pense. 

Did you obey his orders ? Avez-vous obei a ses ordres ? 

I obeyed them. J'y ai obei. 

Did they go into the house ? Sont-ils entres dans la maison? 

They did. lis y sont entres. 

Is he at your house ? Est-il chez vous ? 

He is. II y est. 

Y can always be replaced by a noun preceded by 
one of the prepositions a, chez, dans, en. 

4. He went and made his II est alle f aire une visite chez 

uncle a visit and stayed son oncle et il y est reste un 
a month. mois. 

Y is rarely left to be understood as in English. 



THE USB OF Y 181 





SINGULAR. 


PLURAL. 


m'en, 


t'en, s'en, 


nous en, vous en, s'en, 


Ten, 


lui en. 


les en, leur en. 


m'y, 


t'y, s'y, 


nousy, vousy, s'y, 


ry. 




les y, leur y. 



Note. — Lui y is avoided on account of the sound. 

6. It is useful to notice that among these pro- 
nouns and adverbs that must be placed before the 
verb, 

Ne is always first, 

En is always last 

Do you want some straw- Voulez-vous des fraises ? 

berries ? 

Are there any ? Y en a-t-il ? 

There are plenty. II y en a beaucoup. 

There are none. II n'y en a pas. 

Are there none ? N'y en a-t-il pas ? 

EXERCISE 

1. Quelle langue parle-t-on en^Autriche ? On w y parle 
cinq w ou six langues differentes. 

2. Pouvez-vous nous^accompagner demain ? Je ne sais 
pas. Pensez-y. Nous serons tres heureux de vous_avoir. 

3. II a pris tant de repas a credit a son restaurant qu'il 
n'ose plus y retourner. 

4. J'ai frequente cette societe, et j'y ai appris beaucoup 
de choses. 

5. Voulez-vous accepter cette petite croix? Que vous 
etes bonne, madame ! Mais non, elle n'a de valeur que celle 
que vous voudrez bien y attacher. 

6. On t'attend chez toi, mon petit garcon. Vas-y, et dis 
a ton pere que nous penserons a lui. 



182 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. As-tu fini la phrase telle que je te l'ai dictee ? Eh 
bien, ajoutes-y ces mots. 

8. J'ai revu la maison ce matin, je n'y ai rien vu de 
change. 

9. Tachez d'oublier votre chagrin. Wj pensez pas. II 
est difficile de ne pas y penser. 

10. Nous parlions tout a l'heure de Paris. Y avez-vous 
jamais ete ? Non, c'est le reve de ma vie d'y aller. 

11. Jean Bart, le fameux capitaine, etait fils d'un 
pecheur. Etant jeune, il alia exercer son metier en 
Hollande, dans l'esperance d'y mieux gagner sa vie. Pen- 
dant qu'il y etait, la guerre eclata entre la France et la 
Hollande. On offrit a Jean Bart de servir sur les vaisseaux 
hollandais, mais il ne le voulut pas, parce qu'il sentait que 
c'est un crime de porter les armes contre son pays. 

12. J'ai promis de vous descendre a votre porte ; je vous 
y descendrai. Et il m'y a descendu. 

13. Etes-vous stir que Madeleine et Therese etaient a 
l'eglise ? Je les y ai vues moi-meme. 

14. Je vais envoyer les enfant s au jar din. C'est une 
bonne idee. Envoyez-les-y. 

VOCABULARY 

aj outer, to add. une arme, a iveapon. 

a credit, on credit. la croix, the cross. 

le chagrin, grief, sorrow. une esperance, a hope. 

dieter, to dictate. une eglise, a church. 

eclater, to burst, to break out. la Hollande, Holland. 

le metier, the trade. hollandais, hollandaise, Dutch. 

oser, to dare. promis, promise (past part.), 

le pecheur, the fisherman. promised. 

le reve, the dream. sentir (irreg. verb), to feel. 

le vaisseau, the vessel, ship. 

Notes. — 5. due translates how before an adjective in an exclama- 
tion. Notice that the words are not inverted in French as they are in 
English. How can you tell the gender of valeur here ? 



THE USE OF Y 183 

6. Vas-y : the imperative is va except before -y. Notice that 
we do not say nous lui pensons. 

7. Ajoutes-y : s is added to the second singular of the imperative 
of verbs of the first conjugation before -y. 

11. This is written in narrative style; hence, all the successive 
events are given in the past definite tense. 

12. Descendre, when it has an object, means to set down, to bring 
down, etc. 

For Translation 

1. Look at that little bird. How pretty it is ! My 
brother gave it to me. He has given me several. How 
kind he is ! 

2. I heard what he said, but I did not attach much 
importance to it. 

3. Our friends are waiting for us in the garden ; let's go. 

4. Did you obey orders? We did. Here are your 
orders ; obey them. If he received the order he obeyed it; 
be sure of that. 

5. Little girl, where are you going? I am going to 
school, sir. Go quickly, it is late. 

6. Here is my speech. I have read it. What do you 
think of it ? I admire it very much, but you must add an 
argument to show that your adversary is thinking only of 
his own interests. 

7. What language is spoken in Switzerland? Three 
languages are spoken there : French, German, and Italian. 
Add to these several patois. That is too many for a little 
country. 

8. Have you read my exercise? Yes. Did you find 
many mistakes in it ? I found one very singular mistake. 
Show it to me. 

9. Louise kept all the flowers. She did not give me any. 
You did not ask me for any. Did you ask her for any ? 

10. Did she give you some? She gave us three of them. 

11. Did you speak of it to him? Would you have 
spoken of it to them ? I knew that they would speak of 
it to us. 

13 



184: FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

12. Why did you go to that school ? My uncle sent me 
there. 

13. How do you know that these men were in the 
church.? Andre saw them there. 

14. Do you want some oranges? Are there any? If 
there were none, I should not offer you any. There are 
plenty of them. 

15. We went to the country last week and spent three 
days there. We shall go back there next summer. 



LESSON XLVIII 

1. Subjunctive Impeefect of the Thkee 

Conjugations 

je portasse, je finisse, je rendisse, 

tu portasses, tu finisses, tu rendisses, 

il portat, il finit, il rendit, 

nous portassions, nous finissions, nous rendissions, 

vous portassiez, vous finissiez, vous rendissiez. 

ils portassent. ils finissent. ils rendissent. 

2. Subjunctive Impeefect of 
AVOIR ETRE 

j'eusse, je fusse, 

tu eusses, tu fusses, 

il eiit, il fat, 

nous eussions, nous fussions, 

vous eussiez, vous fussiez, 

ils eussent. ils fussent. 

3. The subjunctive imperfect of all verbs ends in 

-sse, -ssions, 

-sses, -ssiez, 

-t, -ssent, 

preceded by one of the vowels a, i, or u. This 
vowel is identical with the leading vowel in the 



THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE 185 

ending of the past definite, and in the third singu- 
lar bears the circumflex accent. 

4. Fokmation 

The Imperfect Subjunctive is formed from the 
Past Definite by adding se to the second singular. 

tu portas, je portasse. tu eus, j'eusse. 

tu finis, je finisse. tu fus, je fusse. 

5. Meaning and Use 

The uses of the subjunctive and its tenses must be postponed. One 
rule may be learned now : 

When a verb requiring the subjunctive after it 
is in a past tense, or in the conditional mood, it 
requires the subjunctive imperfect or pluperfect. 

I must give back that money. II faut que je rende cet argent. 
We had to give back that H a fallu que nous rendissions 
money. cet argent. 

6. In conversation the subjunctive imperfect is 
avoided as much as possible, and in literary style 
it is also avoided when long forms result, such as 
nous contribuassions. 

It is often avoided by the use of the infinitive, as we shall learn later. 
In ordinary conversation the present subjunctive is often considered 
allowable where the grammar calls for the imperfect. 

7. Plupeefect Subjunctive 
PARLER VENIR 

j'eusse parle, je fusse venu, 

tu eusses parle, tu fusses venu, 

il eut parle, il frit venu, 

nous eussions parle, nous fussions venus, 

vous eussiez parle, vous fussiez venus (venu), 

ils eussent parle. ils fussent venus. 



186 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



8. 



Past Antekioe, Indicative Mood 



j'eus parle, 
tu eus parle, 
il eut parle, 
nous eumes parle, 
vous elites parle, 
ils eurent parle. 



je fus venu, 
tu fus yenu, 
il fut yenu, 
nous fumes yenus, 
yous futes yenus, 
ils furent yenus. 



Note. — Observe the circumflex accent in the third singular of the 
Imperfect and Pluperfect Subjunctive. It is not found in the Preterit 
or Past Anterior. 



9. As soon as lie had written 

the letter, he went out. 
When we had finished our 
work, we went back to 
the house. 



Des qu'il eut 6crit la lettre il 

sortit. 
Lorsque nous eumes fini notre 

travail, nous retournames a 

la maison. 



a. The Past Anterior, like the Past Definite, is used in 
the literary, narrative style only. 

b. It is used in connection with the Past Definite, to 
express an action immediately preceding. 

Scarcely had he said the A peine eut-il prononc6 le mot 
word when he regretted qu'il le regretta. 
it. 

10. When I had finished my work Quand j'ai eu fini mon travail, je 
I went out. suis sorti. 

The French has also a tense formed with the Past Indefinite of 
avoir and the Past Participle of the verb. It is not very frequently 
used. Its use in conversation corresponds to that of the Past Anterior 
explained in 9, b, above. 

EXERCISE 

1. Allez-yous a la reception de Madame Delatour? II 
importe que vous w y soyez present. 

2. Le president m'a dit qu'il etait tres^important que 
tous les membres du club fussent presents. On_allait dis- 
cuter une affaire de la plus haute importance. 



THE PAST ANTERIOR 187 

3. II n'etait pas du tout certain que je fusse digne des 
honneurs qu'on allait me conferer. 

4. Messieurs, dit-il, avec solennite, fusse-je devant la 
mort, je ne parlerais pas autrement. 

5. II suffit que nous rendions l'argent dans un mois. 

II aurait sum que nous eussions rendu l'argent mardi 
dernier. 

6. J'attends qu'il choisisse le sujet de sa composition. 
J'attendais qu'il eut fini d'ecrire sa lettre. 

7. II a faliu qu'il abandonnat sa patrie. 

8. Je n'eus pas plus tot donne mon consentement que je 
compris mon erreur. 

lis n'eurent pas plus tot donne leur consentement 
qu'ils comprirent leur erreur. 

9. Lorsque tous furent entres dans la prison, on ferma 
les portes. 

10. Aussitot que j'eus acheve mes etudes, mes parents 
jugerent utile de me faire passer mes examens pour savoir 
si j'avais appris assez de langue morte pour etre promu au 
grade de bachelier. 

11. Les soldats etaient entasses dans les wagons, impa- 
tients de partir, mais les disques flambaient rouges; le 
mecanicien attendait qu'ils tournassent. 

VOCABULARY 

autrement, otherwise. discuter, to discuss. 

je compris, I understood, I le disque, the dish, signal. 

realized. une erreur, an error. 

digne, worthy (§47). il importe (impersonal verb), 
entasser, to heap up, to pile in. it is important. 

flamber, to flame, to turn. la patrie, fatherland, native 
le grade, the degree. country. 

le m6canicien, the engineer, le wagon, car, railway -coach. 

engine-driver. il suffit, it suffices, it will do. 
tot, soon. 



188 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Xotes. — 4. Fusse-je. The accent is placed here for the same 
reason as in porte-je. The inversion is analogous with the English 
had we for if we had. Fusse-je means though I were. 

6, 11. Attendre que. Till is translated by que when used with 
the verb wait. 

8. The ordinary word for soon is bientot, but the comparative is 
always plus tot. 

10. Me faire passer. To cause me to pass, to have me pass. 
Faire followed by an infinitive means to cause. 

11. Entasser. TJn tas means a pile, a heap. 

For Translation 

1. Scarcely had I finished the letter when he arrived. 
She waited for the letter the whole afternoon. No sooner 
had she gone out than the postman arrived. 

2. When we had all entered the church the man began 
his explanations. 

3. As soon as they had completed their studies their 
parents sent them to Paris. 

4. As soon as I received the letter I carried it to him. 

5. When they had finished their work they returned to 
the house. 

6. She had no sooner given her consent than she real- 
ized her mistake. 

7. It was by no means certain that they were worthy of 
the honor about to be conferred upon them. 

8. It is well that each one love and honor his native 
land. The teacher said that it was well that each one 
should love and honor his native land. 

9. Do you think it important that we discuss that 
matter ? 

10. It was very important that we should be promoted. 

11. We have had no news of him since 1890, but it is 
not at all certain that he is dead. 

12. I shall wait till you have passed your examina- 
tions. He said he would wait till we had passed our ex- 
aminations. 



FORMATION OF THE FRENCH VERB 189 

13. When must I pay back this money ? I must have 
it in three days. I shall have it to-morrow; as soon as I 
have it I shall give it to you. 

14. I shall wait until he has paid me back the money. 
Will it do for him to pay it back next month ? 

15. He is waiting for us to choose a table for the dining- 
room. 

16. I am waiting until my brother has finished his letter. 
Then we shall go out together. 



LESSON XLIX 
FORMATION OF THE FRENCH VERB 

1. A French verb has five principal parts. When 
these are known, all the remaining parts of the 
verb may be formed from them. 

2. The five principal parts of a French verb are : 

1. The Present Infinitive. 2. The Present Participle. 

3. The Past Participle. 4. The first person singular of the 
Present Indicative. 5. The first person singular of the 
Past Definite. 



3. Examples: 








Inf. Pres. Part. Pres. 


Part. Past. 


Indic. Pres. 


Past Def. 


porter, portant, 


port6, 


je porte, 


je portai. 


finir, finissant, 


fini, 


je finis, 


je finis. 


rendre, rendant, 


rendu, 


je rends, 


je rendis. 


craindre, craignant, 


craint, 


je crains, 


je craignis. 



Note. — The fourth of the above verbs, craindre, to fear, is called 
an irregular verb, because its five parts do not conform to those of 
rendre. It is introduced here to show how the formation now under 
consideration applies to an irregular verb as well as to regular verbs. 



190 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Review of the rules of formation : 

a. From the Infinitive Present are formed the Future 
and the Conditional Present. 

The Future is formed by adding 

-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, 
dropping final e of the infinitive, if there is one. 
The Conditional Present is formed by adding 
-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. 

b. From the Present Participle are formed the Plural of 
the Indicative Present, the Imperfect of the Indicative, and 
the Present of the Subjunctive. 

The Plural of the Indicative Present is formed by 
changing -ant into 

-ons, -ez, -ent. 

The Imperfect of the Indicative is formed by changing 

-ant into 

-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. 

The Present of the Subjunctive is formed by changing 

-ant into 

-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. 

c. From the Past Participle are formed all the Com- 
pound Tenses by means of one of the auxiliary verbs, avoir 
or etre. 

d. From the Present of the Indicative is formed the 
Imperative by dropping the pronoun subjects. 

Note. — The singular is therefore found here, but the plural of the 
Imperative is found under the Present Participle. 

e. From the Past Definite is formed the Imperfect of 
the Subjunctive by adding -se to the second person singular. 

The endings are -sse, -sses, -"t, -ssions, -ssiez, -ssent. 

Note. — Except before en and y, the s of the second singular of 
the Imperative of the First Conjugation is dropped. We say portes-y, 
portes-en, but porte cette lettre. 



FORMATION OF THE FRENCH VERB 



191 



5. The verb Porter arranged according to the for- 
mation of its parts : 



INFINITIVE 
PEESENT. 


PEESENT 
PAET. 


PAST PAE- 
TICIPLE. 


PEES. 
INDIC. 


PAST 
DEFINITE. 


porter 


portant 


porte 


je porte 


je portai 


Future. 


Indic. Pres. 
Plural. 


Inf. Past. 






je porter ai 
tu porter as 
il porter a 
nous porter ons 
vous porter ez 
ils porter ont 


nous port ons 
vous port ez 
ils port ent 


avoir porte 

Comp. Past 
Part. 

ayant porte 


tu portes 
il port e 


tu port as 
il port a 
nous port ames 
vous port ates 
ils port erent 


Cond. Pres. 


Indicative 
Imperfect. 


Past Indef. 


Impve. 


Subj. Imp. 


je porter ais 
tu porter ais 
il porter ait 
nous porterions 
vous pofteriez 
ils porter aient 


je port ais 
tu port ais 
il port ait 
nous portions 
vous portiez 
ils port aient 

Subjunctive 

Present. 
je port e 
tu port es 
il port e 
nous port ions 
vous port iez 
ils port ent 


j'ai porte 

Pluperfect 

Indic. 
j'avais porte 

Past Ant. 
j'eus porte 

Fut. Ant. 
j'aurai porte 
Cond. Past. 
j 'aurais porte 

Subj. Past. 
j'aie porte 

Subj. Plu- 
perfect. 

j'eusse porte 


porte 

portons 

portez 


je port asse 
tu port asses 
il port at 
nous port as sions 
vous port assiez 
ils port assent 



Note. — Only the first person singular of each compound tense is 
given. 

In like manner arrange the verbs finir and rendre. 



192 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



6. The irregular verb Craindre arranged according 
to the formation of its parts : 



craindre. 


craignant. 


craint. je crains 


je craignis. 


je craindrai 




avoir craint 




tu craindras 




ayant ' 


' tu crains 


tu craignis 


il craindra 




j'ai 


' il craint 


il craignit 


nous craindrons 


nous craignons 


j'avais 


1 


n. craignimes 


vous craindrez 


vous craignez 


j'eus 


' crains 


v. craignites 


ils craindront 


ils craignent 


j'aurai 
j'aurais 


' craignons 
' craignez 


ils craignirent 


je craindrais 


je craignais 


j'aie 


' 


je craignisse 


tu craindrais 


tu craignais 


j'eusse 


' 


tu craignis ses 


il craindrait 


il craignait 






il craignit 


nous craindrions 


nous craignions 






n. craignissions 


vous craindriez 


vous craigniez 






v. craignissiez 


ils craindraient 


ils craignaient 

je craigne 
tu craigne s 
il craigne 
nous craignions 
vous craigniez 






ils craignissent 



ils craignent 

In like manner complete the verbs, 



joindre, 


joignant. 


joint, 


je joins, 


je joignis, 


join. 


plaindre, 


plaignant, 


plaint, 


je plains, 


je plaignis, 


pity. 


peindre, 


peignant, 


peint, 


je peins, 


je peignis, 


paint 



7. All verbs whose infinitive ends in -indre are con- 
jugated like craindre. 



mener, 

je menerai, 



acheter, 
j'aoheterai, 



LESSON L 
Mener, to lead. 

menant, mene, 

ils menent. 

je mene, -es, -e, -ent. 

Acheter, to buy. 

achetant, achete, 

ils achetent. 
j'achete, -es, -e, -ent. 



je mene, 



j'achete, 



je menai. 



j'achetai. 



SPECIAL RULES FOR FIRST CONJUGATION 193 

These are not irregular verbs. It is a rule in 
French that no word can end in two mute syllables. 
See § 11, 8. So, before the endings -e, -es, -ent, the 
e of the preceding syllable is written e, or the con- 
sonant between is doubled. In the future and 
conditional the e mute of the stem is also changed. 

2. Appeler, to call. 

appeler, appelant, appele, j'appelle, j'appelai. 

j'appellerai, ils appellent. 

j'appelle, -es, -e, -ent. 

Jeter, to throw. 

jeter, jetant, jete, jejette, jejetai. 

je jetterai, ils jettent. 

je jette, -es, -e, -ent. 

These verbs and a few others double the last 
consonant of the stem instead of changing e to e. 

3. There are special rules of spelling applying to 
verbs in -cer and -ger. C before a and o has the 
sound of Jc, and g the sound in go. 

Therefore, when c or g of these verbs comes before 
an a or an o in the termination, the former is written 
g, the latter has an e mute placed after it. 

Present Tense of tracer, to trace. 

je trace, nous tra^ons, 

tu traces, vous tracez, 

il trace, ils tracent. 

Present Tense of d6ranger, to disturb. 

je derange, nous d6rangeons, 

tu deranges, vous derangez, 

il derange, ils derangent. 



19i FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Imperfect Tense of placer, to place. 
je placais, nous placions, 

tu placais, vous placiez, 

il placait, ils placaient. 

Past Definite of diriger, to direct, to steer. 
je dirigeai, nous dirigeames, . 

tu dirigeas, vous dirigeates, 

il dirigea, ils dirigerent. 

4. There are special rules of spelling applying to 
verbs in -yer. 

Nettoyer, to clean. 

nettoyer, nettoyant, nettoye, je nettoie, je nettoyai. 
je nettoierai, ils nettoient. 

je nettoie, -es, -e, -ent. 

Appuyer, to lean. 

appuyer, appuyant, appuye, j'appuie, j'appuyai. 

j'appuierai, ils appuient. 

j'appuie, -es, -e, -ent. 

Whenever the y comes before an e mute in the 
ending the y changes to i. However, verbs in -ayer 
like payer, and in -eyer like grasseyer, generally 
keep the y all the way through. Usage varies. 

5. Imperfect of prier, to leg, ash, pray. 

je priais, nous priions, 

tu priais, vous priiez, 

il priait, ils priaient. 

Imperfect of employer, to use, employ. 

j'employais, nous employions, 

tu employais, vous employiez, 

il employait. ils employaient. 



VERBS OF FIRST CONJUGATION 195 

EXERCISE 

1. Dimanche prochain je vous^emmene tous a la cam- 
pagne. 

2. Voulez-vous m'expliquer le motif que vous^amene ? 

3. II exagere tou jours un peu. 

4. Mon ami, tu essaies de faire trop de choses a la fois. 

5. On emploie le mot physicien en francais pour designer 
autre chose qu'un medecin. 

6. C'est la chute d'une pomme qui a suggere a Newton, 
le grand physicien anglais, l'idee de la gravite. On voit 
par la que des choses que la plupart des hommes conside- 
red comme de peu d'importance suggerent aux penseurs 
les plus grands principes de la nature. 

7. L'architecture qu'on appelle ordinairement gothique 
n'a rien a faire avec les Goths. (See § 43, 2, a. and § 59, 7.) 

8. Nous le priions tous les jours de venir avec nous. II 
refusait chaque fois. II n'a jamais refuser de venir avec 
moi. 

9. II mangeait son diner lorsque je suis entre. 

10. II dirigea le bateau vers le rocher. 

11. Oii achetez-vous vos chapeaux ? Je les achete chez 
Armand. 

12. Je placais les chaises autour de la table, quand vous 
m'avez appele. J'appellerai Jean, si vous voulez. 

13. Cet homme ou mene-t-il ce cheval? II le mene a 
l'ecurie. 

14. Eegardez cet homme ; il chancelle, il va tomber. 

15. II replaca son chapeau sur sa tete. 

VOCABULARY 
chanceler, to stagger. le rocher, the rode. 

emmener, to take along amener, to bring. 

(§33). une ecurie, a stable. 

considerer, to consider. suggerer, to snt 

physicien, physicist. 



196 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes.— 1. To bring a friend is amener un ami. To bring a book, 
apporter un livre. To take a prisoner away is emmener un prisonnier. 
To take a chair away is emporter une chaise. The idea in mener and 
its compounds is that of leading, guiding ; in porter and its compounds 
that of carrying. 

6. Par la, by that, thereby, thus. 



For Translation 

1. Ask your brother to come with you. Yes, I told him 
I should bring him the next time. 

2. I have refused to employ that man. But you told 
him that you would employ him. But I have discovered 
that he is not worthy of my confidence. 

3. Did he take you to the church? He told me he 
would take me there next Sunday. 

4. I shall not buy that table ; it is too dear. I was sure 
you would not buy it. I shall not buy any now. 

5. Do you consider him worthy of my confidence ? I 
consider him as my best friend. 

6. I hope I shall not disturb you. You will not disturb 
me. Those are my uncle's books. We never disturb them. 
Leave them as he placed them. I was replacing them just 
now. 

7. He used to direct an orchestra. He who directs an 
orchestra is called in French chef d'orchestre. 

8. The maid cleans these rooms twice a week. She will 
clean your room to-morrow. Madeleine, clean Madame's 
room to-morrow morning. 

9. How do you employ your time ? I had hoped that 
you would employ it more usefully. 

10. Take me along. I will take you another time. 

11. You were trying to do too many things at once. 

12. Those boys were eating cherries. 

13. Where are you taking those horses? I am taking 
them to the stable. 

14. If you sold those articles cheaper we should buy 



THE PRESENT TENSE 197 

some. Be sure we shall never pay the price you were ask- 
ing just now. 

15. These tables and chairs are covered with dust ; you 
must clean this room at once. 

An orchestra, un orchestre (§ 43, 2). 



LESSON LI 



1. I have been here two Je suis ici depuis deux se- 

weeks. maines. 

II y a deux semaines que je 
suis ici. 

How long has your Depuis quand votre frere est- 
brother been here? il ici? 

Combien y a-t-il que votre 
frere est ici? 

He has been talking for II parle depuis une heure. 
an hour. Voila une heure qu'il parle. 

Have you been living Y a-t-il longtemps que vous 
here long ? demeurez ici ? 

Twenty years. Depuis vingt ans. 

The present tense is used in French for an action 
or state of aifairs that began in the past and con- 
tinues up to the present. 

2. The preposition to be used before the noun or 
adverb of time in such sentences is depuis. 

3. When il y a or y a-t-il introduces such sentences, 
que is used before the verb and not depuis. Que is 
then a conjunction, introducing a dependent clause. 



198 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



4. How long had you been Depuis quand 6tiez-vous la ? 

there? Combien y avait-il que vous 

6tiez la ? 
He had been ill a long II 6tait malade depuis long- 
while, temps. 

II y avait longtemps qu'il 
6tait malade. 

The Imperfect is used in French where the Eng- 
lish has the Pluperfect for a past state of affairs 
continuing up to a point of time past. 

5. The Impeesokal Veeb Y avoir, there . . . to be. 
Example : (il va) y avoir, there (is going) to be. 

Indicative Mode 



Present, 


ily a. 


Past Definite, 


il y a eu. 


Imperfect, 
Past Definite, 


il y avait. 
il y eut. 


Pluperfect, 
Past Anterior, 


il y avait eu. 
il y eut eu. 


Future, 


il y aura. 


Fut. Anterior, 


il y aura eu. 




Conditional Mode 




Present, 


il y aurait. 


Past, 


il y aurait eu. 




Subjunctive Mode 




Present, 


il y ait. 


Past, 


il y ait eu. 


Imperfect, 


il y eut. 


Pluperfect, 


il y eut eu. 


6. He was our 


neighbor for 


11 etait notre 


voisin pendant 


many years. 
He has been our neighbor 


bien des annees. 
H est notre voisin depuis bien 


for many years. 
He hopes to be our neigh- 
bor for many years yet. 


des annees. 
11 espere etre notre voisin 
pour bien des annees en- 






core. 





For ^ in expressions of time, is rendered by pour 
only when it points to the future. Pendant has the 
meaning during and is frequently omitted. He 



THE VERB Y AVOIR 199 

traveled in Europe for a whole year : II a voyage en 
Europe toute une annee, or pendant toute une annee. 

EXERCISE 

1. Depuis combien de temps mon sommeil durait-il? 
Je ne sais. Tout w a coup un grand bruit me reveilla. 

2. Tu ne vois done pas comme elle a mauvaise mine 
depuis son retour. Je crains pour sa sante. 

3. II y aura dix jours lundi que ma soeur est malade. 
Nous commencons a croire que e'est vraiment serieux. 

4. Je commence a etre fatigue. Voila une heure que 
j 'attends. . 

5. Je commencais a etre fatigue. Voila une heure que 
j'attendais. 

6. Jean n'est pas venu hier soir. Je l'ai attendu une 
heure, de huit heures a neuf heures. 

7. Jean n'est pas encore venu. Je l'attends depuis trois 
heures et demie. II est maintenant quatre heures ; 9a fait 
une demi-heure que je l'attends. 

8. Je regrette d'etre en retard. Y a-t-il longtemps que 
vous m'attendez? Depuis quelques minutes seulement. 

9. Je regrettais d'etre en retard, et je leur ai demande 
s'il y avait longtemps qu'ils m'attendaient. lis m'ont 
repondu qu'ils m'attendaient depuis quelques minutes 
seulement. 

10. A cinq heures vous n'etiez pas venu ; nous n'avons 
pas attendu plus longtemps. 

11. II y aura un bal chez Mme. Benoit ce soir. 

12. On m'a dit qu'il y aurait un bal chez Mme. Benoit 
ce soir. 

13. II est probable qu'il y aura beaucoup de monde. 

14. Se peut-il qu'il y ait eu si pen de monde? 

15. Je ne vois plus Henri depuis quelque temps, savez- 
vous ou il est ? II n'est plus a Paris, dit-on. Voila plu- 
sieurs mois que je ne l'ai pas vu. 

16. II y a longtemps que je n'ai rien mange de si bon ! 

14 



200 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 



le bal, the ball. avoir bonne mine, to look well, 

le bruit, the noise. healthy. 

le sommeil, sleep. avoir mauvaise mine, to look 

r6veiller, to awaken. ill. 

tout a coup, all of a sudden. 

Notes. — Vivre is to live in the sense of to be alive ; demeurer is 
to live in the sense of to divell, to reside. 

1. Pas is often omitted with savoir, to know (also with cesser, oser 
and pouvoir). 

13, 14. Monde often has the meaning of people, as here. 

15, 16. Notice that to say " it is a long time since I did it," the 
French construction puts it negatively : " it is a long time that I have 
not done it," " il y a longtemps que je ne l'ai fait." 

Notice that de is placed before an adjective depending upon rien. 

For Translation 

1. His brother used to live in Paris, but now he lives 
there no longer. He has been traveling for some time. 
Do you know how long he has been traveling ? ]No ; I have 
had no news of him for a long time. 

2. Your sister looks very well since she came back from 
the country. How long has she been back? She came 
back on the first of last month, so it is now six weeks that 
she has been back. 

3. How long did you work yesterday? I worked six 
hours. And how long have you been working now? I 
have been working for twenty minutes. 

4. There will be a concert to-night ; do you want to go ? 
Let's go together. It is a long time since I have been to a 
concert. 

5. He says he has been waiting for us for a long time. 
How long have you been waiting ? Several hours. I regret 
it very much. We are not often late. 

6. Have you ever traveled in Switzerland ? Xo ; I have 
never been there. My uncle is traveling there now. He 



THE RELATIVE PRONOUN QUI 201 

has been in Switzerland for several weeks. He will stay 
there some time longer {encore quelque temps). 

7. My mother is ill. She has been ill for a week. She 
was very ill last winter too. I hope she will get well soon. 
She does not look well. 

8. John is ont. How long has he been out ? He has 
been out since noon. When I came yesterday he was out 
too. He had been out some time. 

9. How long have they lived in Eouen ? They do not 
live in Rouen any longer. They used to live there. They 
lived there a year ago. How long had they lived there 
when they went away ? 

10. How long did your sister stay in Paris last year? 
She stayed there only three weeks. She has gone back to 
Paris, you know. She has been there for two months. 

11. The maid told me you were out last evening. I 
didn't wait. 

12. How many months is it that we have been here? 
We have been here six months. 

13. I was beginning to get tired. I had been waiting 
hours. 

14. Several times during the night I heard noises. 



LESSON LII 



The gentleman who came Le monsieur qui est entre il y 

in a moment ago is a a un moment est un artiste 

celebrated artist. celebre. 

That is the gentleman C'est le monsieur que nous 

whom we saw yesterday. avons vu hier. 

The steamer that arrived La bateau qui est arrive ce 

this morning was La matin etait La Champagne. 

Champagne. 

The pencils which you Les crayons que vous avez 

picked up belong to ramasses sont ceux de mon 

my brother. frere. 



202 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

a. The relative pronoun qui is used as the subject of a 
verb. 

b. The relative pronoun que is used as the direct object 
of a verb. 

c. The relatives qui and que offer no distinctions of 
gender or of number, and apply to things as well as to 
persons. 

2. What vexes me is that he Ce qui me f ache c'est qu'il 

is always late. est toujours en retard. 

What you say is perfectly Ce que vous dites est parfaite- 
true. ment vrai. 

The relative pronoun what is translated by ce 
qui when subject, by ce que when object, of a verb. 
Wliat, of course, is here equivalent to that which. 

3. The book he is reading is Le livre qu'il lit ne vaut rien. 

worthless. 

a. The relative pronoun must never be omitted. 

b. due is changed to qu' before a vowel. 

4. The man who said that Le homme qui a dit cela etait 

was a philosopher. un philosophe. 

The i of qui is not elided. 

5. The house lay hidden in La maison disparaissait dans 

the shadow that was l'ombre que proj etait le 
cast by the great cathe- grande tour de la cathe- 
dral tower. drale. 

I told him what his friend Je lui ai dit ce qu'avait fait 

had done. son ami. 

The French Parliament Le parlement francais voulait 

wished to play the part jouer le role qu'avait joue 

that the Parliament of le parlement d'Angleterre. 
England had played. 



THE RELATIVE PRONOUN 203 

After the relative pronoun que this inversion of 
the verb and subject is frequent. The purpose of 
the inversion is to bring the more important word 
at the end or to avoid putting the verb too far 
from the subject. 

He did what a man who re- II a fait ce que peut faire un 
spects himself and others liomme qui se respecte et 
can do. qui respecte les autres. 

In French it would be awkward to write, " II a 
fait ce qu'un homme qui se respecte et qui respecte 
les autres peut faire." 

6. Learn the complete verb Aller, to go, page 320. 

Commit to memory the five principal parts, and 
the forms given under each part. Remember that 
all forms of the verb not given are made according 
to rule. See Lesson XLIX. 

a. The Conditional is not inserted, because in all verbs 
it corresponds to the Future. The Conditional of Aller is, 
therefore, j'irais, etc. 

b. Explanation of Subjunctive Present. 

Many verbs have a change of stem in the Sub- 
junctive Present, like this verb aller. In these 
verbs the ivlwle singular and the third person 
plural have the same stem, while the first and 
second persons plural are regular. 

Subjunctive Present oe Aller 



j'aille, 


nous allions, 


tu ailles, 


vous alliez, 


il aille, 


ils aillent. 



204 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Historically the last syllable of a French word always had the stress, 
unless it was a syllable containing the vowel called the e mute. It is 
in the stressed syllable that we find the vowel change or stem-change 
referred to above. In the first and second plural the stress is on the 
termination -ons or -ions, -ez or -iez, and so the stem-syllable has 
suffered no change. As we study the irregular verbs we shall often see 
this principle in force in the Present Indicative and in the Present 
Subjunctive ; in all other tenses (except occasionally the Past Definite) 
the stress is on the ending. 

EXERCISE 

1. Quand je cherche bien dans ma pensee toutes mes^ 
impressions de Rome, je n'en trouve que deux qui effacent 
ou qui du moins dominent toutes les^autres : le Colisee, cet^ 
ouvrage du peuple romain ; Saint-Pierre, ce chef-d'oeuvre du 
catholicisme. 

2. Allons^au theatre ce soir, voulez-vous ? 

3. J'etais la dans un silence que ne troublait aucun autre 
bruit que le cri des aigles et le roulement des torrents qui 
tombaient de la montagne. 

4. Vous m'avez dit que vous iriez avec moi au theatre 
cette semaine. Est-ce que vous l'avez oublie ? 

5. Mon petit garcon, ton pere t'attend a l'eglise. Vas-y, 
et dis-lui que nous venons. 

6. Ces soldats, ou vont-ils ? lis vont a la caserne. 

7. Le bijoutier dit : Ce n'est pas moi, madame, qui ai 
vendu ce collier. 

8. Est-ce vous qui avez laisse ce livre ici ? C'est 
moi. 

9. C'est mon frere et moi qui sommes alles a Paris avec 
mon oncle. De quel oncle voulez-vous parler? De mon 
oncle Jules, celui que vous avez rencontre un soir chez 
nous. 

10. Ce qui est bien singulier, c'est qu'il n'est pas rentre 
ce soir-la. 

11. Ce qu'il m'a difc m'a paru bien singulier. 

12. II m'a offert tout ce qu'il avait. 

13. Un enfant aime tout ce qui brille. 



THE RELATIVE PRONOUN 205 

14. Mon pere ne lui permet pas de sortir seul ; il f aut 
que j'aille avec lui. 

15. Vous ne trouverez pas une meilleure explication de 
ce mot que celle qu'en donne Littre. 

VOCABULARY 

aucun, aucune, no (adj.). le roulement, the rolling, roar- 
Is bijoutier, the jeweler. ing. 

le Colisee, the Coliseum. du moins, at least, at any rate. 

le chef-d'oeuvre, the master- une ombre, a shade, a shadoiv. 

piece (§ 45, 2). offert (past part.), offered. 

un ouvrage, a work. la pense*e, the thought, mind. 

le peuple, the people. permettre, to alloiv, to permit. 

paru (past part.), appeared, le torrent, the torrent. 
la caserne, the barracks. 

Notes. — 1. Le peuple. This word is equivalent to nation, race 
or common people. People meaning folks, persons is gens. Catholi- 
cisme. Nouns ending in -isme are masculine. 

3. Aucun. This adjective is usually found in connection with a 
negative verb. Pas and point are not used in the same construction 
with aucun. 

7. Q,ui ai. Notice carefully the agreement of the verb after qui. 
So also in 8 and 9. 

10. C'est. This repetition of ce is usual when the sentence begins 
with ce qui or ce que, but only when etre is the verb. In 11 there is 
therefore no repetition. 

12, 13. See Notes of Lesson XXXIV. 

For Translation 

1. Do you know that lady — the one who went out 
last ? It is the same lady we saw the other evening at 
Mme. Lenoir's. 

2. The compositions which you have written are very 
good. 

3. All those who are going to Mme. Delatour's recep- 
tion are requested to give their names to the secretary 
(secretaire). 



206 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. What lie told me astonished me. 

5. I like all that that author has written. 

6. Show me what you have in that drawer. 

7. You want all I have. He took all I had. He took 
all there was. 

8. Must we go with you ? Do as you please. We shall 
go with pleasure if you desire it. 

9. Where is John going? He is going up-stairs. I 
told him to look for the book which you asked me for 
yesterday. 

10. He said he was not worthy of the honor his friends 
were going to confer upon him. 

11. I have never eaten better bonbons than those which 
you gave me the other day. I never saw more beautiful lace 
than that which you showed me the other day. 

12. Is it you who ate all these cherries ? 

13. It is not I that borrowed the money. 

14. If we went to the concert this evening would you go 
with us ? If we had gone to the concert last evening would 
you have gone with us ? 

15. All was in a deep silence, which was troubled by no 
other sound than the song of the birds. 

16. He is ill; he must not be alone. If he goes to the 
country some one must go with him. My father would not 
allow him to go there alone. 



LESSON LIII 



1. The Venetians were beat- Les Venitiens furent battus 

en by the Genoese. par les Genois. 

The Passive Verb is formed in French exactly as 
in English by combining the verb etre, to be, with 
the past participle of the active-transitive verb. 



THE PASSIVE VERB 



207 



Sykopsis of Etre battu, to be beaten 



Simple Tenses. 

etre battu. 
etant battu. 

e suis battu. 

'etais battu. 

e fus battu. 

e serai battu. 

e serais battu. 

e sois battu. 
je fusse battu. 
sois battu. 



Compound Tenses. 

avoir ete battu. 
ayant ete battu. 
j'ai ete battu. 
j'avais ete battu. 
feus ete battu. 
j'aurai ete battu. 
j'aurais ete battu. 
j'aie ete battu. 
j'eusse ete battu. 



3. I was beaten, 
She was beaten, 
We were beaten,. 



j'ai ete battu. 
elle a ete battue. 
nous avons ete battus. 



The Past Participle in the Passive verb agrees 
in gender and number with the subject. 

4. Preferer, preferant, prefer e, je pr6fere, je preferai, to 
prefer. 

poss6der, to possess, to own. c6der, to yield. 

I own, je possede. they yield, ils cedent, 

he owns, il possede. yield thou, cede, 

we own, nous possedons. he will yield, il cedera. 

The acute accent can never stand upon an e that 
precedes a final e mute with a consonant between 
the two vowels. When the infinitive of a verb of 
the first conjugation has e in the penultimate syl- 
lable, change e to e before the endings -e, -es, -ent. 
See § 11, 8. 



208 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. An army, une armee. A lyceum, un lycee. 
She is loved, elle est aim6e. A row, une rangee. 

A spoonful, une cuilleree. The distance, la portee. 

range, reach, 
A mouthful, une bouchee. A roomful, une chambr6e. 

mess, 
A handful, une poignee. To create, cr6er. 
A museum, un mus6e. It creates, il cr6e. 

But e stands before e when there is no conso- 
nant between. 

EXERCISE 

1. Au moyen^age les serfs etaient vendus avec la terre. 

2. Le medecin disait_aux soldats : Alors vous n'avez 
pas w ete blesses pendant la guerre ? 

3. Les Anglo-Saxons furent vaincus par les Normands 
en 1066. 

4. Le feu a eclate 1 'autre soir dans un petit village situe 
a quelques kilometres d'ici. Une vingtaine de maisons ont 
ete consumees par l'incendie. 

5. Le soleil etait a peine leve que nous fumes surpris 
par Tarmee ennemie. 

6. Je vous repete, monsieur, que mon maitre ne pout 
pas vous recevoir, il n'est pas encore leve. 

7. La terre a ete creee en six jours. 

8. Ces chevaux sont vendus. lis ont ete vendus il y a 
trois jours. Et ces autres sont a vendre. II faut qu'ils 
soient vendus cette semaine. 

9. Cette maison est encore a vendre. Je la croyais 
vendue. Elle ne sera jamais vendue, soyez-en sur : le prix 
qu'on demande est trop eleve. 

10. Elle etait aimee de tout le monde. 

11. Cette grande croix fut plantee par les moines. 

12. Tous ces soldats furent faits prisonniers et la ville 
fut prise. 

13. La maison est entouree d'arbres. 



THE PASSSIVE VERB 209 

14. Ces barils ont ete remplis de sable. Ces autres sont 
pleins d'eau. 

15. Cet homme est hai de tous ses voisins. 

16. Les chiffres ont ete inventes par les Arabes. 

17. Autrefois il possedait plusieurs maisons ici. A 
present il n'en possede plus. 

VOCABULARY 

le baril, the barrel (§ 51, 2). hair, to hate (irreg. verb). 

Sclater, to hurst, to break out. un kilometre, a kilometer. 

le feu, the fire. moyen, moyenne (adj.) mid- 
mi incendie, a conflagration. die. 

le moine, the monk. remplir, to fill. 

plein, pleine, full. le sable, the sand. 

le voisin, la voisine, the vaincre, to conquer, 
neighbor. 

Notes. — 4. The preposition a is used before the noun in an expres- 
sion of distance. 

5. que is used for when after a peine. 

7. See notes of Lesson XXXVII. 

8. A vendre, for sale, to he sold. The infinitive with a used 
predicatively is generally expressed in English by a passive infinitive. 

Notice that in many of these sentences the passive verb is sometimes 
followed by de, sometimes by par. As a general rule the agent of a 
passive verb is preceded by de when the verb expresses a moral feeling, 
a sentiment, a mere state or condition ; by par when it expresses a 
definite action. The passive verb with de expresses ivhat is or was ; it 
rather describes. The passive verb with par expresses what happens 
or happened ; it rather refers to an event. 

Translate into French 

1. I hope that you will be present. They hope that we 
shall not be beaten. This army has never been beaten. 
That general will never yield. He must yield. 

2. That whole row of trees was planted by my grand- 
father. 

3. He creates difficulties for his friends. The king 
created him colonel. He was created colonel by the king. 



210 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Every museum in Europe (de V Europe) was visited 
by him, but he did not discover the picture he was looking 
for. 

5. We were beaten by a handful of men. 

6. At what hour did the fire break out ? It broke out 
at three o'clock, and an hour later the whole house was 
consumed. 

7. Eome was not built in a day. 

8. The teacher repeats all the sentences several times. 
The pupils also repeat the sentences. Have these sentences 
been copied ? We have copied them all. 

9. Is that house for sale ? I believe it was sold yesterday. 

10. Marie is loved by everybody. She is full of kindness 
for all. 

11. The city would have been captured if General M. 
had not arrived with his troops. 

12. The little village was completely surrounded by 
soldiers. 

13. Not a word was uttered (prononc'e). 

11. Do you prefer white wine or red wine? I prefer 
white wine. 

15. A few kilometers from here there is a chateau which 
is one of the handsomest in the country. 

16. The idea of gravitation was suggested to Newton by 
the fall of an apple. 

17. These two officers were obliged to resign. 

18. All the boats were destroyed by fire. 



LESSOR LIV 



1. The gentleman to whom Le monsieur a qui vous avez 
you spoke. parle. 

The relative pronoun qui may be used after a 
preposition, but only when applied to persons. 



LEQUEL AND DONT 211 

2. The horse to which you Le cheval auquel vous ayez 

gave the hay this morn- donne le f oin ce matin, 
ing. 

The relative pronoun lequel must be used after a 
preposition, in speaking of animals and things. 

3. Fokms of the Peokouk LEQTJEL 
Singular. Plural. 

Masc. lequel. lesquels. 

Fern, laquelle. lesquelles. 

CONTRACTIONS WITH DE AND A 

Masc. duquel. desquels. 

Fern, de laquelle. desquelles. 

Masc. auquel. auxquels. 

Fern, a laquelle. auxquelles. 

4. The lady of whom we La dame dont nous parlions. 

were speaking. 
The piece of music you Le morceau de musique dont 
spoke of. vous parliez. 

Dont is a pronoun, having the force of de + a 
relative pronoun. It applies both to persons and 
to things, and it has no distinctions of gender and 
number. 

5. The boy whose father Le gargon dont le pere est 

died the other day. mort Pautre jour. 

The bo} T whose father you Le gargon dont vous avez vu 
saw. le pere. 

The English whose, determining a noun which 
is object of a verb, causes the object to be brought 
around before the verb. The object of the verb in 
the clause beginning with dont remains in its place 
after the verb, and is therefore separated from dont. 



212 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

6. The boy to whose father Le gar 9 on au pere duquel 

yon wrote. vons avez ecrit. 

The boys with whose Les gar 90ns avec le pere des- 
father I was talking. quels je cansais. 

When ivlwse relates to a noun that is governed 
by a preposition, it is rendered by duquel, de laquelle, 
etc., placed after the noun. Dont can not be used 
in connection with a noun that is governed by a 
preposition. 

7. He gave me what I had II m'a donne ce dont j'avais 

need of (that of which besoin. 
I had need). 

No French clause can end with a preposition. 

8. The house in which he La maison ou il demeure. 

lives. 
The house from which he La maison d'ou il est sorti. 

came out. 
The grief into which I La douleur ou je suis plonge. 

am plunged. 

This use of ou for dans lequel, etc., is very fre- 
quent, 

9. At the hour when all were A l'heure ou tous dormaient. 

sleeping. 

I was thinking of the time Je pensais au temps ou il 

when he used to come venait nous voir tous les 

to see us every day. jours. 

Ou and not quand is used to translate the relative 
adverb wlxen. 

10. Learn envoyer, to send. 

Like envoyer, conjugate renvoyer, to send back, 
to discharge, to refer. 



LEQUEL AND DONT 213 



EXERCISE 

1. Un diner ou toute la famille fut convoquee celebra 
mes succes. 

2. Je la crois^incapable de tout le mal dont tous l'ac- 
cusez. 

3. Xenophon dirigea la retraite des Dix roille, dont il 
fut apres l'historien. De mon temps tous ceux qui etu- 
diaient le grec lisaient Xenophon. C'etait le premier au- 
teur grec que nous etudiions. 

4. II m'a dit qu'il m'enyerrait une depeche. 

5. Voila un liomme dont la betise est devenue prover- 
biale dans le pays. 

6. Dites-moi toutes les couleurs dont vous savez le nom. 
Je n'en connais que fort peu. J'ai vu un liyre dans lequel 
j'ai trouve une longue liste de ces noms, dont j'ai essay e 
d'apprendre les plus importants. 

7. II fit un voyage en Asie an cours duquel il ramassa 
des faits interessants pour le livre qu'il allait ecrire. 

8. Voila le petit salon ou nous allons prendre nos lemons. 

9. Le cure aimait les hommes de l'antiquite, les heros, 
les actions presque fabuleuses clans lesquelles le courage 
physique a joue un role important. 

10. Voila une table sur laquelle vous pouvez ecrire yos 
lettres. 

11. Les memes mots designent souvent des choses fort 
difi 2 erentes. La republique cles Eomains n'a rien de commun 
avec ce que nous appelons de ce nom. Par republique, les 
modernes entendent une societe ou le citoyen a le plus de 
liberte et le gouvernement le moins de pouvoir. 

12. Yoila une nouvelle dont je suis tres content. 

13. II a deterre une boite de fer au fond de laquelle il 
a trouve un sac rempli de pieces d'or. C'est comme clans 
un roman ! 

11. II porte des lunettes, sans lesquelles il ne reconnai- 
trait pas ses meilleurs amis dans la rue. 



214 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 

convoquer, to convene, call le sac, the bag. 

together. I'antiquit6 (fern.), antiquity. 

le cours, the course. la betise, stupidity. 

le cur 6, the curate, the dormir, to sleep. 

priest. diriger, to direct, 



le citoyen, the citizen. d6terrer, to unearth, dig up. 

le fer, iron. entendre, to understand. 

le fond, the bottom. la liberty liberty, freedom. 

le fait, the fact. les lunettes (fern.), glasses, 
le mal, evil. spectacles. 

les maux, the evils. porter, to wear. 

le pouvoir, poiver. la rue, the street. 

reconnaitre, to recognize. le salon, the parlor. 
le succes, success. 

Notes. — 3. De mon temps. In my time. This is an idiomatic 
use of de. 

5. Betise. The adjective bete means stupid. Nouns with the end- 
ing -ise are feminine. 

11. Entendent. This verb means to understand and to hear. 

For Translation 

1. At what distance are we from Paris? Paris is one 
hundred kilometers from here. 

2. That is a fact of which I am sure. You must gather 
some facts among which you will choose the most interest- 
ing. This is the book for which I was gathering facts last 
year. 

3. He offered me some flowers among which there were 
two beautiful roses. 

4. Do you know the lady to whom I was speaking ? Do 
you know the lady of whom 1 am speaking ? Do you know 
the lady whose jewels were lost ? Do you know the lady to 
whose maid Madeleine was speaking ? Here is a list of the 
boys to whose fathers I haye written. 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 215 

5. Have you all you need ? Do you know what he is 
talking of ? Tell me what you know. Tell me only what 
you are sure of. 

6. Send me the flowers to-night. I shall send them be- 
fore six o'clock. 

7. He sent back the letter ; it was not for him. 

8. You said you would send me the flowers before six ; 
it is now seven, and I have not received them yet. 

9. He was behind a tree, from where he saw (voyait) 
everything. 

10. Here is a bag in the bottom of which I found 
a beautiful piece of lace. Do you know who put it 
there ? 

11. You must have entire confidence in him, without 
which no friendship is possible. ( Use the indefinite article 
tvith confiance here.) 

12. She will play the part in which she had her great 
success last winter. 

13. At the moment when I was putting the letter in the 
box I thought of something that I had forgotten. 



LESSON LV 



1. Who was there ? Qui etait la ? 

With whom were you ? Avec qui etiez-vous ? 
Whom did you see ? Qui avez-vous vu ? 

The interrogative qui applies only to persons. 
It is used of both genders, of both numbers, may 
be subject or object of a verb, or follow a preposi- 
tion. 

2. What do you say ? Que dites-vous ? 
What does he want ? Que veut-il ? 

15 



216 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

The interrogative pronoun que is translated by 
what. It can only be used as direct object of a verb. 

3. What shall we open this Avec quoi ouvrirons-nous cette 

box with ? boite ? 

What ! tired already ! Quoi ! fatigue deja ! 

a. The interrogative quoi applies to things, and is used 
with prepositions. 

b. What used alone, as a question or an exclamation, 
is Quoi. 

4. He used a word which I II a employe une mot que je 

had never heard. n'avais jamais entendu. 

He went out without say- II est sorti sans dire un mot, 

ing a word, which as- ce qui a etonne tout le 

tonished everybody. monde. 

Which, referring to the whole preceding clause, 
is rendered by ce qui or ce que. 

5. I have been deceived. On m'a trompe. 

The money was given On lui a rendu Targent. 
back to him. 

The passive is rarely used when the agent is 
not specified. 

To translate the English passive in such cases, 
change the verb to the active form, with on as 
subject. 

6. How do you write that Comment ecrit-on ce mot ? 

word? 
They say that he has lost On dit qu'il a perdu sa for- 
his fortune. tune. 

On is an indefinite pronoun, in the third person 
singular. The English equivalents are one, people, 
somebody, we, you, they. 



USE OF THE WORD ON 217 

7. Learn the verb conduire, to lead, conduct. 
Like it are conjugated 

construire, to construct, build. 
produire, to bring forth, produce. 
introduire, to introduce, bring in, insert. 
traduire, to translate. 

EXERCISE 

1. On nous distribuait nos portions a la cuisine, a 
nous_autres. On_apportait_a manger a ceux qui etaienfc 
bien malades. 

2. Du toit de notre maison on distingue tres bien le 
pont de Brooklyn, mais si Ton continue a construire des 
maisons tellement hautes autour de nous, nous finirons par 
ne plus rien voir du tout. 

3. Que n'a-t-on pas dit contre moi ? 

4. On m'a dit que votre oncle voits cederait sa maison. 
On me l'a repete hier. Y aurait-il qLielque indiscretion a 
vous demander si c'est vrai ? Mais pas du tout. Ce qu'on 
volls a dit est parfaitement vrai. 

5. On appelle Orientaux les habitants de l'Orient. 
Comment appelle-t-on les habitants de la Eussie? On 

les appelle Russes. Et les habitants de la Prusse ? - On les 
appelle Prussiens. 

Comment est-ce qu'on appelle en francais ce due qui a 
conquis 1'Angleterre au onzieme siecle? On l'appelle Guil- 
laume le ConqLierant. 

6. Pour qui me prenez-vous ? Pourquoi prenez-vous 
cette liberte ? 

7. De quoi vous a-t-il parle ? II m'a traduit la phrase, 
sans quoi je ne l'aurais jamais comprise. 

8. Vous avez pris ce livre sans ma permission, ce qui est 
tres mauvais. Vous avez invite plusieLTrs personnes sans 
me consulter, ce que je n'aime pas. 



218 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

9. L'hotelier nous conduisit a nos chambres. Cet hom- 
me vous conduira a votre chambre. 

10. Comment traduiriez-vous cette plirase ? Je ne com- 
prends pas cette phrase, il faut que le maitre me la traduise. 

11. Quels sont les principaux produits de ce pays ? Est- 
ce que ce pays produit du fer? Est-ce que ces fabriques 
produisent beaucoup de soieries ? 

12. Loisel possedait dix-huit mille francs que lui avait 
laisses son pere, ce qui lui permettait d'acheter une jolie 
petite maison a la campagne. 

VOCABULARY 

6tonner, to astonish. le toit, the roof. 

Guillaume, William (§52, 6). la cuisine, the kitchen. 

un hotelier, an innkeeper, la fabrique, the factory, 

hostler. la portion, the portion. 

le pont, the bridge. la soierie, the silk goods. 

le siecle, the century. tellement, so. 

Notes. — 2. Par. To begin by showing : Commencer par raontrer. 
To end by showing: Finir par montrer. Rien du tout. Nothing 
at all. 

5. Au onzieme. See §§ 68, 7, and 69, 3. 

For Translation 

1. The seventeenth century produced many celebrated 
authors. 

2. I have been told that the mandarins wear their finger- 
nails very long. Is that true ? 

3. The teacher began by explaining the lesson in arith- 
metic. 

4. They begged him to go with them and he finally 
yielded {he finished by yielding). 

5. Louis has an overcoat which is handsomer than mine. 
Louis went out without an overcoat, which was very im- 
prudent. 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 219 

6. What did he say when he received the news ? He 
said he would start for Paris by the first train. 

7. You say she went to the concert. With whom did 
she go ? 

8. Did you succeed in (a) opening the box ? What did 
you open it with ? 

9. He opened the door and found the room empty, which 
astonished him very much. 

10. This is the room which my friend has chosen for me. 

11. The richer that man becomes, the less generous he 
is, which, according to William, is quite natural. Is it 
natural that the rich should not be generous? I do not 
think so. I know many who are very generous. 

12. Have you been paid ? Has the money been paid ? 

13. The more we travel the more we enlarge our knowl- 
edge. 

14. W^hat (hoiv) do they call the ruler of Turkey ? He is 
called the Sultan. 

15. Where is that silk sold? You find it in all the 
large stores. 

16. The English admiral Drake destroyed the Spanish 
fleet in the English Channel. 

17. How do you translate that word ? How was that 
word translated? 

18. They say we shall have a shorter vacation this year 
than last year. Do you know anything about it ? 

19. Take this gentleman to his room. He took me to 
my room. 

20. A new bridge is being built over the Seine. 

21. Have you done your lessons ? No ; I must translate 
a whole page of Latin yet. I pity you. Why? 

22. The earth produces all that men enjoy. That is why 
she is called the universal mother. 



220 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSON LVI 

1. Which of these pens is Laquelle de ces plumes est la 

yours ? votre ? 

Which of these books are Lesquels de ces livres sont les 

the best ? meilleurs ? 

Which book did you Quel livre avez-vous pris ? 

take ? 

Which one did you Lequel avez-vous pris? 

take? 

Which ones did you Lesquels avez-vous pris ? 

take? 

a. Lequel, as an interrogative pronoun, is used before 
the preposition de, or when a noun governed by de may 
be supplied. 

b. Quel is used as an interrogative adjective, but lequel 
is not so used. 

c. Where the English adds one or ones to which in 
order to make it clear whether a singular or plural is 
meant, do not translate with un or uns. Lequel and les- 
quels are clearly distinguished already. 

2. Who wants to go with us ? Qui est-ce qui veut aller avec 

nous ? 
Whom do you wish to see ? Qui est-ce que vous voulez 

voir? 
What does he want ? Qu'est-ce qu'ilveut? 

Qui est-ce qui (literally, wlio is it that), qui est-ce 
que, qu'est-ce qui, and qu'est-ce que are very frequent 
forms of introducing a question. The pronoun 
coming after est-ce is the relative pronoun, and its 
form qui or que depends upon whether it is the sub- 
ject or the object of the verb that follows. 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 



221 



3. What is it ? 



What is that ? 



What is a parallelogram ? 



Qu'est-ce ? 

Qu'est-ce que c'est ? (more 

usual). 
Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela? 
Qu'est-ce que c'est que ca ? 
Qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un pa- 

rallelogramme ? 

Qu'est-ce and qu'est-ce que c'est are both often 
merely a way to introduce a question, and que is 
used idiomatically after them before the name of 
the thing inquired about, as though a new clause 
were beginning. 

What is it that a parallelogram (is) ? or 
What is it that it is that a parallelogram (is) ? 

4. duels sout ces gens ? Who are those people ? What 

people are those ? 
Who is the naturalist that 
studies in libraries only? 
What naturalist studies in 
libraries only? 

The interrogative adjective quel is often used 
predicatively where we might expect the pronoun 
qui. There is a difference in meaning. The sec- 
ond translation in each case above gives the mean- 
ing more accurately. 

5. Idioms with AVOIR 

What's the matter ? Qu'y a-t-il ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a? 

What is the matter with 

you? 
What ails you ? 

I have a toothache. J'ai mal aux dents. 

Nothing ails me. Je n'ai rien. 



Quel est le naturaliste qui 
etudie dans les biblio- 
theques seulement? 



Qu'avez-yous ? Qu'est-ce que 
vous avez ? 



222 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

You are right. Vous avez raison. 

We are wrong. Xous avons tort. 

He is ashamed. II a honte (h aspiree). 

I am very cold. J'ai bien froid. 

I am not warm. Je n'ai pas chaud. 

What do yon need ? De quoi avez-vous besoin ? 

I want to go out. J'ai envie de sortir. 

They are afraid. lis ont peur. 

They are afraid of us. lis ont peur de nous. 

Are you hungry? Avez-vous faim? 

~No, I am thirsty. Non, j'ai soil 

Your brother is sleepy. Yotre frere a sommeil. 
The wedding took place in Le manage a eu lieu le matin, 
the morning. 

EXERCISE 

1. Quels sont les noms des quatre saisons en francais ? 
Le printemps, l'ete, l'automne et l'hiver. Quelle est la 
saison que vous pref erez ? 

2. Qu'avez-vous ? Je n'ai rien ; qu'est-ce qui vous fait 
penser que j'ai quelque chose ? C'est que vous_avez l'air 
pale. Eh bien, j'ai un leger mal de tete, mais cela passera, 
ce n'est rien du tout. 

3. Ma sceur est sujette aux maux de t&te. Elle en a 
quelquefois de terribles. 

4. Qu'est-ce qu'il a, le petit Pierre? Pourquoi est-ce 
qu'il crie ainsi? Une guepe l'a pique. La piqure de la 
guepe est bien douloureuse. 

5. J'avoue que j'avais peur. Tout homme aurait eu 
peur devant un tel danger. 

6. Je n'ai pas bu, car je n'avais pas soif. Si j'avais eu 
soif j'aurais bu. 

7. Tu n'as pas le droit d'intervenir, tu aurais bien tort 
d'y aller. Tu as raison, je n'ai pas le droit d'y aller. 

8. De qui avez-vous peur? Je n'ai peur de personne. 
De quoi a-t-il peur ? II n'a peur de rien. 



IDIOMS WITH AVOIR 223 

9. A quelle heure est-ce que le mariage aura lieu? II 
aura lieu a trois heures de l'apres-midi. Qui est-ce qui veut 
y aller ? Est-ce que vous n'avez pas ete invite ? 

10. Est-ce que vous avez demande a Jean s'il a envie 
de nous accompagner ce soir? Qu'est-ce qu'il vous a 
repondu ? 

11. Qu'est-ce que c'est que cet animal-la? Maiscen'est 
qu'un chien. Qu'est-ce que vous croyiez que c'etait ? 

12. Lorsque vous avez vu ce gros serpent, est-ce que 
vous en aviez peur? Qui est-ce qui n'en aurait pas eu 
peur? 

13. Donnez-moi un de ces tableaux, n'importe lequel. 

14. Nous discutons les merites de ces deux poetes; 
lequel pref erez-vous ? 

15. Duquel de ces freres avez-vous recu ce cadeau? 
Auquel de vos amis destinez-vous ce cadeau ? 

VOCABULARY 

avouer, to acknowledge, to ad- bu (past part, of boire), 

mit. drunk. 

douloureux, douloureuse, j9tf { n- destiner, to intend, to destine. 

fid. la guepe, the ivasp. 

le droit, the right. n'importe, it does not matter, 
intervenir, to interfere. never mind, no matter. 

le merite, the merit. la piqure, the sting. 

piquer, to sting. la saison, the season. 
sujet, sujette (adj.), subject. 

Notes. — La honte, la raison, le tort, le besoin, la peur, la 
faim, la soif, le sommeil, le soin, le lieu, l'envie, le chaud, le froid 

are all nouns ; used in the above idioms after avoir they have no 
article with them. Chaud and froid are also adjectives. The iron is 
hot, le fer est chaud ; some cold water, de l'eau froide. II a froid 
means he has a feeling of cold ; il est froid means he is cold-natured. 

1. L'automne is of either gender. The names of the other three 
seasons are masculine. 

5. Tout here means any. In translating any into French notice 
carefully whether it has a partitive meaning (as, have you any money?), 



224 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

or whether its meaning approaches that of every (as, any other book will 
do). In the latter case it is expressed by tout or by n'importe quel. 

5. Un tel, such a. Notice that the article precedes tel. 

9. Trois heures de l'apres-midi. Notice the preposition de. 

For Translation 

1. Which house is yours ? Which is your house ? Which 
of these houses is yours ? Which of these houses are yours? 

2. To which of these ladies did you give the flowers ? 
From which of the sisters did you receive the letter ? 

3. What does he say ? Ask him what he said. What 
do you want ? Tell me what you want. What vexes you ? 
Tell me what vexes you. 

4. Who wants to see me ? Whom do you want to see ? 
I saw two members (membres) of the society. Which ones 
did you see ? 

5. Do you hear that noise ? Yes ; what is it ? Do you 
know what it is ? 

6. Did you hear that noise ? NTo ; what was it ? I don't 
know what it was. 

7. What is a republic ? What is a planet ? What is a 
right ? 

8. Am I right or wrong ? 

9. Have I the right to speak? Why should you not 
have that right ? 

10. What is that ? What do you think it is ? 

11. What is the matter with little John? 

12. What a noise! What's the matter? Ask the man 
what's the matter. He says something fell. It is nothing. 

13. We are all hungry. I am thirsty, too. 

14. Are you afraid of him? Is he afraid of you? I 
am not afraid of anybody. Would you be afraid of him ? 
Would you be afraid of it ? Would you have been afraid 
of it? 

15. If you lend me the book, be sure that I will take 
care of it. 



THE REFLEXIVE VERB 



225 



16. The battle took place on the 15th of June. 

17. Are you not ashamed to speak thus? Would you 
not be ashamed to act thus? 

18. When we arrived home we were very cold. Are you 
warm enough now ? I am too warm. 



LESSON LYII 

1. Conjugation - of Se flatter, to flatter oneself 

Se flatter is a reflexive verb. A reflexive verb is 
one whose subject and object are identical — that is, 
the action is performed by the subject upon itself. 

to flatter oneself, 
flattering oneself 

I flatter myself 

thou flatter est thyself. 

he flatters himself. 

we flatter ourselves. 

you flatter yourself or 
yourselves. 

they flatter themselves. 

I u seel to flatter myself. 

I flattered myself. 

I shall flatter myself. 

I should flatter myself 

I flatter myself 

I might flatter myself 
flatter thyself. 

let us flatter ourselves, 
flatter yourself 

do not flatter thyself. 

let us not flatter ourselves. 

do not flatter yourself. 



Inf. Pres. 


se flatter, 


Pres. Part. 


se flattant, 


Ind. Pres. 


je me flatte, 




tu te flattes, 




il se flatte, 




nous nous flattons, 




vous vous flattez, 




ils se flattent, 


Ind. Imp. 


je me flattais, 


Past Def. 


je me flattai, 


Future. 


je me flatterai, 


Cond. Pres. 


je me flatterais, 


Subj. Pres. 


je me flatte, 


Subj. Imp. 


je me flattasse, 


Imperative 


flatte-toi, 




flattons-nous, 




flattez-vous, 


Imperative 


negative. 




ne te flatte pas, 




ne nous flattons pas, 




ne vous flattez pas, 



226 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



2. Co^poukd Tekses of the Eeelexive Vekb 

Past Inf. s'etre flatte, to have flattered oneself. 

Past Part. s'6tant flatte, having flattered oneself . 

Past Indef. je me suis flatte, I have flattered myself. 

tu t'es flatte. 

il s'est flatte. 

nous nous sommes flattes. 

yous yous etes flattes. 

ils se sont flattes. 
Pluperfect, je m'Stais flatte, I had flattered myself 

tu t'6tais flatte. 

il s'6tait flatte. 

nous nous 6tions flattes. 

yous yous 6tiez flattes. 

ils s'6taient flattes. 
Past Ant. je me fus flatte, I had flattered myself 

tu te fus flatte, etc. 
Fut. Ant. je me serai flatte, I shall have flattered my- 

tu te seras flatte, self 

il se sera flatte, etc. 
Cond. Past, je me serais flatte, I should have flattered my- 

tu te serais flatte, self 

il se serait flatte, 

nous nous serions flattes, etc. 
Subj. Past, je me sois flatte, I may have flattered my- 

tu te sois flatte, self 

il se soit flatte, 

nous nous soyons flattes. 
Subj. Plupf . je me fusse flatte, / might have flattered my- 

tu te fusses flatte, self 

il se fut flatte, 

nous nous fussions flattes, etc. 

Keflexive Verbs form their compound tenses with 
the auxiliary verb etre. 



THE EEFLEXIVE VERB 



227 



3. He has amused himself. 

She has enjoyed herself. 

The ladies enjoyed them- 
selves. 

Miss Lef evre, did you en- 
joy yourself ? 



II s'est amuse. 

Elle s'est amus6e. 

Les dames se sont amus6es. 



Mademoiselle Lefevre, est-ce 
que vous vous etes anms6e ? 

The past participle in tlie compound tenses of a 
reflexive verb agrees with the direct object. 



4. The reflexive pronoun se is of the third person. 
It is used for both numbers, both genders, and for 
both the Dative and Accusative Cases. 



5. He turns the wheel. 
He turns (meaning he 

turns himself). 
Eeturn (meaning go 

lack). 
Turn round (meaning 

turn yo urself round). 
He stopped the horse. 
He stopped (meaning he 

stopped himself). 

In English we frequently make a verb intransi- 
tive where the French language calls for a reflexive 
verb. In French the omission of the reflexive ob- 
ject is very rare. 

6. Translate 



II tourne la roue. 
II se tourne. 

Retournez. 

Ketournez-vous. 

II a arret e le cheval. 
II s'est arrete. 



II avait flatte. 
II etait flatte. 
II s'etait flatte. 
II flattait, 
II se flattait. 
II serait flatte. 



3 amusais. 
je m'amusais. 
je m'etais amuse, 
j'etais amuse, 
j'avais amuse, 
j'aurais amuse. 



228 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

II aurait flatte. je l'aurais amuse. 

II se serait flatte. je me serais amuse. 

II se natterait. je 1'amuserais. 

EXERCISE 

1. Je me promene ici toutes les_apres-midi. La senti- 
nelle se promenait devant la porte. Allous nous promener 
dans le pare. Ou yous promenez-vous ordinairement ? Je 
vais me promener au bord du lac. Ou t'es-tu promene ce 
matin? Est-ce que tu t'es bien_amuse? Je me suis tres 
bien^amuse, mais Louis dit qu'il ne s'est pas^amuse du 
tout. Lui s'ennuie partout, et il m'ennuie par-dessus le 
march e. 

2. Le soleil se leve dans l'est et se couche dans l'ouest. 
Voila pourquoi Test s'appelle quelquef ois le levant et l'ouest 
le couchant. L'est s'appelle aussi l'orient et l'ouest l'occi- 
dent. 

3. Le soleil se leve plus tard en hiver qu'en ete. A 
quelle heure le soleil s'est-il leve ce matin ? Je ne sais pas ; 
je n'etais pas leve moi-meme. Je vous crois. Le lever du 
soleil, je suis sur que vous l'avez vu assez rarement. Avez- 
vous vu le magnifique coucher du soleil d'hier soir ? 

4. A quelle heure vous levez-vous le matin ? Je me leve 
ordinairement vers sept heures, mais ce matin je ne me suis 
leve qu'a huit heures. 

5. Levons-nous. Ah, non ! ne nous levons pas encore ! 

6. Nous nons sommes arretes devant la porte de la 
cathedrale. Pourquoi le train ne s'est-il pas arrete? Je 
croyais qu'il s'arretait a cette station. Non, il ne s'y 
arrete jamais. Arretez-vous. Pourquoi ne vous arretez- 
vous pas? 

7. Andre s'etait deja couche avant notre arrivee. II se 
couche tou jours de bonne heure. Je n'aime pas a me 
coucher avant dix heures. 

8. Allons nous coucher. Couchez-vous. Est-ce que vous 
n'allez pas vous coucher ? 



THE EEFLEXIVE VERB 229 

VOCABULARY 

s'amuser, to enjoy oneself. se promener, to ivalk. 

s'ennuyer, not to enjoy one- lever, to raise. 

self, to have a dull time, se lever, to rise. 

to be bored. s'appeler, to be called, named. 

se coucher, to lie down, to go lev6, up. 

to bed, to set. le bord du lac, the shore of the 
par-dessus le march6, into lake. 

the bargain. 

Notes. — 1. La sentinelle. This feminine noun is to be noted, as 
it denotes a man. It meant originally the duty of a sentinel. 

2. Lever, to raise. Se lever, to raise oneself, to rise. So 
Coucher, to lay down ; Se coucher, to lie down. 

3. Je vous crois, I believe you. Here the English idiom would 
be : Tm sure you weren't. Of course you weren't. 

For Translation 

1. I rise at seven. They rise at eight. We get up at 
six. We used to rise early. At what time did you use to 
get up? He got up. He didn't get up. Did he get 
up ? Didn't he get up ? Are you up ? Were you up ? I 
wasn't up. 

2. I take a walk here every morning. I used to take a 
walk. I took a walk this morning. I shall take a walk 
with him. 

3. Are you having a good time here ? Were you having 
a good time there? Did you enjoy yourself? You will 
have a good time. You would have a good time. You 
would have had a good time. You would not have had a 
good time. 

4. Have a good time. Let us enjoy ourselves. We 
enjoy ourselves here. We are not enjoying ourselves. We 
were not enjoying ourselves. We have not had a good 
time. We should enjoy ourselves. We shall enjoy our- 
selves. We should have had a good time. We should not 
have had a good time. 



230 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. Turn round. Don't turn round. I turned round. 
He turned round. They turned round. They didn't turn 
round. They would have turned round. She would have 
turned round. 

LESSON LVIII 

1. I am going to buy myself Je vais m'acheter un chapeau 

a new hat. neuf. 

He was talking to himself. H se parlait a lui-meme. 

The reflexive verb roay have the indirect object 
identical with the subject instead of the direct 

object. 

2. She bought herself a new Elle s'est achete* une robe 

gown. neuve. 

Here the past participle remains unmodified be- 
cause the direct object robe follows. S' for se is the 
indirect object. 

3. Here are the gowns she Voici les robes qu'elle s'est 

bought herself. achet6es. 

Here achetees agrees with its direct object que 
because the object precedes the verb. 

4. They do not speak to each Elles ne se parlent pas. 

other. 

The reflexive verb in the plural may express 
reciprocal action. 

5. They defended themselves. lis se sont def endus. 

They defended each other. lis se sont defendus Tun 

1' autre. 

Where there might be ambiguity Pun 1' autre 
(varied for gender and number) must be added to 
the reflexive form to give it the reciprocal sense. 



THE REFLEXIVE VERB 231 

6. These goods are not sold Ces marchandises ne se ven- 

any more, i. e. they are dent plus. 

not for sale or people 

do not buy them. 
These goods are not sold, Ces marchandises ne sont pas 

i. e. no one has bought vendues. 

them. 
That is done every day. Cela se fait tous les jours. 
The work is done. Le travail est fait. 

Often the passive form expresses a completed 
action, a state or condition of affairs. 

To express the passive of momentary or uncom- 
pleted action with such verbs the reflexive is often 
used. Therefore the reflexive form often corre- 
sponds to the English passive form with the agent 
unexpressed. 

7. Where is that sold ? Oii est-ce que cela se vend ? 

Ou est-ce qu'on vend cela ? 

In translating from French to English it is gen- 
erally best to avoid translating on by one, and to 
use the passive. Conversely, it is best to avoid 
the passive with indefinite agent in French, and to 
use the reflexive form or the active form with on as 
subject. 

EXERCISE 

1. Quelle joie de se revoir apres^une si longue absence ! 

2. Les deux^amis ne se sont jamais revus. ^^ 

3. Lui et son frere se querellaient sans cesse, ils ne 
s'aimaient guere. 

4. Ces soldats sont terribles ! les uns se sont empares de 
bouteilles, les autres de viande, ceux-ci de pain, ceux-la de 
cigares. lis ont tout emporte. 

16 



232 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. Xous ne nous attendions pas aux revers qui nous 
accablaient. Xon, nous ne nous y attendions pas du tout. 

6. Je me suis deshabille, ravi de m'etendre dans un lit. 
Les soldats ne se couchent pas toujours dans un bon lit. 

7. Que de choses nous avions a nous raconter! II y 
avait si longtemps que nous ne nous etions pas vus ! 

8. Lui et elle se parlaient a demi-voix sans rien entendre 
de ce qui se disait autour d'eux. 

9. Vous rappelez-vous ce triste soir d'hiver ou nous 
croyions nous quitter pour ne plus nous revoir ? Ah, je me 
le rappelle trop bien. 

10. La porte se ferma, nous n'entendimes plus rien. 

11. Cette maladie se gagne, mefiez-vous ! 

12. Combien delettres se sont-elles ecrites? Elles ne se 
sont pas ecrit. Pardonnez-moi ; vous vous trompez. J'ai 
vu des lettres qu'elles se sont ecrites. 

13. Le participe passe s'accorde avec le complement 
direct du verbe lorsque ce complement est place avant le 
verbe. 

14. Aimez-vous, mes enfants. Ise vous querellez point. 
A quoi bon se quereller ? 

15. A Paris les timbres-poste se vendent chez les mar- 
chands de tabac. 

VOCABULARY 

accabler, to overwhelm. le tabac, tobacco (§ 42, 7). 

sans cesse, constantly. s'accorder, to agree. 

le cigare, the cigar. la bouteille, the dottle. 

d6shabiller, to undress (§ 52, s'emparer, to take possession. 

6). se gagner, to be contagious. 

quereller, to quarrel tcith, se m6fier, to mistrust, to look 
to nag. out. 

se quereller, to quarrel. ravir, to delight. 

le revers, the reverse. se tromper, to be mistaken. 

le timbre-poste, the postage- 
stamp. 



THE EEFLEXIVB VERB 233 

Notes. — Neuf, meaning new, always follows the noun. Neuf 
means new in the sense of not having been used before, fresh, just from 
the shop, etc. Nouveau means recent, novel, of a new kind. 

1. Une si longue. Notice that the indefinite article in English is 
put after the adjective when it is modified by so : so long an. 

3. Se quereller is always reciprocal, and hence always found in 
the plural. 

4. S'emparer. There are verbs that are always reflexive. This 
is one. There is no verb emparer without a pronoun object. 

5. Many verbs change their meaning when used reflexively. 
Attendre is to wait; S'attendre a is to expect. So in 11, Gagner, to 
gain ; Se gagner, to be catching. 

8. Demi-voix. Notice that dexni takes no e here. So demi- 
heure, demi-douzaine. Rien usually precedes the infinitive, of 
which it is the object. Notice, too, that when governed by sans, or 
when the verb is governed by sans, ne is not used. 

9. For the use of pour here, compare the English for how long, 
forever. 

10. Plus precedes rien. 

For Translation 

1. My daughters have bought themselves some pretty 
gowns. I must buy myself a new hat. Louis has bought 
himself some new shoes. 

2. We shall defend ourselves. We shall defend each 
other. Defend thyself. We must defend ourselves. Is it 
possible that they did not defend themselves? Defend 
each other. 

3. These goods sell well. These goods have sold well. 
These goods are already sold. Where do they sell postage- 
stamps ? 

4. We never saw each other again. 

5. He took possession of everything. She took posses- 
sion of the house. They took possession of the city. 

6. I expected that. I did not expect that. Did you 
expect that ? Do not expect anything else. Expect to be 
deceived. 

7. He is mistaken. He was mistaken. He made a mis- 
take. 



234 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



8. We undressed quickly. We were very tired, so that 
we were delighted to stretch out in a good bed. 

9. The soldiers had not lain down in a bed for many 
days. 

10. Come to my room. I have many things to tell you. 
We have many things to tell each other. 

11. We were talking in a low voice. We heard nothing 
that was said around us. 

12. It is said that she is ill. It was said that she 
was ill. 

13. We wrote to each other. Did you write to each 
other often ? How many letters have you written to each 
other ? 

14. Do you recall the old house ? I recall it very well. 
Does your father remember the story he used to tell us 
when we were young ? 

15. That man will deceive you ; look out. 

16. The door opens; we are free! The door opened; 
we were free ! 



LESSOX LIX 



1. Myself, moi-meme. 
Thyself, toi-meme. 
Himself, lui-meme. 
Herself, elle-meme. 
Itself, lui-meme (m.). 
Itself, elle-meme (/.). 

I went myself. 

I have hurt myself. 



Ourselves, nous-memes. 

Yourself, vous-meme. 

Yourselves, vous-memes. 

Themselves, eux-memes (m.). 

Themselves, elles-memes (/.). 

J'y suis alle moi-meme. 
Je me suis blesse. 



The compound personal pronouns, which are 
used for emphasis, must not be confounded with 
the reflexive pronouns. 



THE VERB S'EN ALLER 



235 



2. He got out of the scrape II s'est tire d'affaire lui-meme. 
by himself. 

The emphatic and reflexive pronoun may occur 
in the same clause. 



S'en aller, to go away 
'en allant, s'en etant alle, je m'en vais, je m'en allai. 



3. 

s'en aller, 

je m'enirai. ils s'en vont, s'en etre alle. tu t'en vas, 

je m'en aille, il s'en va, 

tu t'en ailles, va-t'en. 

il s'en aille, 

ils s'en aillent. 



Present Indicative. 

je m'en vais, 

tu t'en vas, 

il s'en va. 

nous nous en allons, 

vous vous en allez, 

ils s'en vont. 



Past Indefinite. 

je m'en suis alle, 

tu t'en es alle, 

il s'en est alle. 

nous nous en sommes alles. 

vous vous en etes alles. 

ils s'en sont alles. 



Interrogative of the 
above. 

m'en vais-je ? 

t'en vas-tu ? 

s'en va-t41 ? 

nous en allons-nous? 

vous en allez-vous ? 

s'en vont-ils ? 



Interrogative Negative of the 
above. 

ne m'en suis-je pas alle ? 

ne t'en es-tu pas alle ? 

ne s'en est-il pas alle ? 

ne nous en sommes nous pas alles? 

ne vous en etes-vous pas alles ? 

ne s'en sont-ils pas alles? 



Imperative. 

va-t'en, 

allons-nous-en, 

allez-vous-en. 



Imperative Negative. 

ne t'en va pas, 

ne nous en allons pas, 

ne vous en allez pas. 



236 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



EXERCISE 

1. Je crois vraiment que vous me trompez, ou bien que 
yous vous trompez vous-meme. En tout cas, je suis sur 
que les choses ne se sont jamais passees de la sorte. 

2. II est alle se promener au bord du lac. II s'y pro- 
mene tous les jours. Vous y promenez-vous quelquefois 
aussi ? Nous ne nous y promenons jamais. 

3. Ne vous depechez pas tant. Mais on m'a dit de me 
depecher ! 

4. Depeche-toi ! Ne soyez pas si lent ! 

5. Ne vous derangez pas pour moi. Je crains de vous 
deranger. Yous ne derangez personne, je vous assure. 
Personne ne s'est derange. 

6. Je suis sur que ces braves gens s'etaient beaucoup 
deranges a cause de nous. 

7. La journee se passa, la nuit se passa. Tou jours pas 
de nouvelles ! 

8. Approchez votre chaise. Approchez-vous de feu. 
Je me suis approche de la fenetre. 

9. Qu'est-ce qui se passe la-bas ? me dit-il. Allons voir. 
Ce sont deux hommes qui se battent. Nous nous precipi- 
tons vers 1'endroit. line foule de curieux s'etaient amasses 
autour d'eux. Puis on a arrete les combattants et la foule 
s'est dispersee. 

10. Allez-vous-en, laissez-moi dormir. 

VOCABULARY 

amasser, to gather. brave, good, kind-hearted. 

se battre, to fight. a cause de, on account of. 

se depecher, to hurry. se passer, to pass, to go on, 
se pr6cipiter, to rush. take place. 

Notes. — 1. Ou bien, or. More emphatic than ou alone. Se passer 
means to pass when the subject is a noun of time. Otherwise it generally 
means to occur, to take place. 

5. Notice that craindre requires de before the infinitive it governs. 



THE REFLEXIVE VERB 237 

6. Brave placed after a noun means brave, courageous. Before a 
noun, good, kind. 

8. Approcher une chose = to draw a thing near. S'approcher 
de is to place oneself near to, to approach. 

For Translation 

1. In a passive verb the participle agrees with the sub- 
ject (le sujet). 

2. They have written each other a dozen letters. 

3. He is always quarreling with his brother. My brother 
and I never quarrel. We love each other very much. 

4. I wrote that letter myself. The pupils wrote the 
exercises themselves. Finish the work thyself. She put 
the letter into the box herself. 

5. Do I disturb you ? You do not disturb me. He took 
a great deal of trouble on my account. I told him not to 
disturb himself. 

6. Months passed, years passed, we never saw them 
again. 

7. I fought with him. They fought. He fought with 
a lion. They will fight. They would fight. They had 
fought. 

8. I am beaten. We are beaten. They were beaten. 

9. What was going on? Do you know what happened? 
Who knows what would have happened ! 

10. The crowd would have dispersed if the soldiers had 
arrived. 

11. The sun will rise behind that mountain. Did you 
ever see the sun rise ? The sun had already set. The moon 
rose early. 

12. We did not have a good time at all. We had a dull 
time of it. 

13. The work is being done slowly. The work is already 
done. That is a thing that is never done (no one ever does). 

14. Go away. Don't go away. Are you going away? 
Must you go away ? Let us go away. 



238 FIRST FRENCH *§dOK 

15. Do you ever go walking in the park ? We do, very 
often. Does he ever go walking in the park ? He never 
does. 

16. Hurry up ! Let's hurry ! 

17. I drew up my chair. I drew near the fire. Draw 
near the fire. We drew near the house. They were 
approaching the city. 



LESSON LX 



1. Learn croire, to believe ; dire, to say, to tell; 

lire, to read ; 6crire, to write. 

Xotes. — Vous dites is present indicative. Vous dites is past 
definite. II dit is present indicative or past definite. II dit is im- 
perfect subjunctive. 

a. Like dire conjugate redire, to repeat. 

b. Contredire, to contradict ; predire, to foretell, to pre- 
dict ; m6dire, to speak ill, to slander, are conjugated like 
dire, with the exception of the second person plural of the 
present indicative, which are contredisez, pr6disez, m6disez. 

c. Like 6crire conjugate d6crire, to describe ; inscrire, to 
inscribe ; prescrire, to prescribe ; proscrire, to proscribe, etc. 

d. Like lire conjugate elire, to elect. 

2. I am reading. Je lis. 

I was reading. Je lisais. 

I have been reading. J'ai lu. 

I had been reading. J'avais lu. 

The Present Participle is not used in French in 
the conjugation of a verb, as it is in English. 

3. She did not go out, be- Elle n'est pas sortie, 6tant 

ing ill. malade. 

They did not go out, be- lis ne sont pas sortis, 6taut 
ing ill. malades. 

The Present Participle is invariable. 



THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE 239 

4. That story is very amus- Cette liistoire est tres amu- 

ing. sante. 

We are well. Nous sommes bien pcrtants. 

But the Verbal Adjective in -ant agrees with the 
noun or pronoun to which it relates. 

The adjective describes, qualifies ; the participle 
denotes simultaneous action. The participle may 
have an object, like the verb. The verbal adjec- 
tive may not. 

The participle answers the question, doing what f 
The adjective answers the question, what hind off 

Verbal Adjective 

A dying woman. Une femme mourante. 

These far-sighted men. Ces hommes pr6voyants. 

Present Participle 

A woman, dying of hunger. Une femme, mourant de faim. 

These men, foreseeing the Ces hommes, prevoyant le 
danger. danger. 

5. The Gekund 

By reading one learns to En lisant, on apprend a lire. 

read. 

I met him while going to Je 1'ai rencontre, en allant a 

the post-office. la poste. 

Still talking, he walked to Tout en parlant, il se prome- 

and fro in the little gar- nait de long en large dans 

den. le petit jardin. 

The present participle preceded by the prepo- 
sition en is often called the gerund. The word en 
is frequently not expressed in the English transla- 
tion. Sometimes it is rendered by on, in, or by. 
Tout is used to emphasize the continuity of the 
action. 



24:0 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

6. En is the only preposition in French that is fol- 
lowed by the Present Particle. All the others 
govern the Infinitive. 

7. The Gerund relates to the subject of the sentence. 

Exception. — An exception is seen in the common saying : L'appetit 
vient en mangeant. 

8. After writing the letter, Apres avoir 6crit la lettre, il 

lie tore it up. l'a dechiree. 

After going to the post- Apres etre all6s a la poste, 

office, we went on by nons ayons continue par 

the other road. l'autre chemin. 

After saying so many Apres s'etre dit tant de choses 

bitter things to each ameres, il est difficile qu'ils 

other, it is difficult for redeviennent amis. 

them ever to become 

friends again. 

The preposition Apres requires the Past Infinitive. 

EXERCISE 

1. Cet homme gagne sa vie en filant du chanvre et 
du lin. 

2. II s'est foule le doigt en essayant d'ouvrir cette porte. 

3. La femme s'est eloignee, poussant une charrette de- 
van t elle. 

4. Je le croyais parti, je suis tout etonne dele savoir ici. 
Entre nous, je ne le crois pas bien heureux, ce brave 

garcon. II a bien du chagrin, j'en suis siir. 

5. lis etaient bien loin l'un de l'autre; ils s'ecrivaient 
quelquefois. 

6. Est-ce qu'il a le droit de voter? Je crois que non. 
II n'a que vingt ans. 

7. Je croyais qu'il avait detruit cette lettre, et, en effet, 
il a fini par tout avouer. II l'avait fait sans reflechir. 

8. Xous attendions que le train partit. Enfin un homme 



THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE 241 

est arrive en courant et en agitant une lanterne, et il a dit 
quelques mots au conducteur. 

9. Louis etait bien triste ce matin ; je l'ai trouve pleu- 
rant. 

Louise etait bien triste ce matin ; je l'ai trouvee pleurant. 

10. Est-ce que Marie est malade ? elle parait soutfrante. 

11. Apres avoir bien vu Eome je desirai voir Naples. 
C'est le tombeau de Virgile et le berceau du Tasse qui m'y 
attiraient surtout. 

12. J'ai passe l'apres-midi a lire Les Miserables. Cette 
lecture m'a emu profondement. 

13. Le premier poeme de ce recueil porte le titre " Au 
Lecteur." 

14. Ce professeur va faire une serie de conferences sur 
Victor Hugo. 

VOCABULARY 

agiter, to wave, to agitate. attirer, to attract. 

le berceau, the cradle. la charrette, the cart. 

le chanvre, hemp. la conference, the lecture. 

s'eloigner, to go aivay. en effet, in fact, as I thought. 

emu (past part.), moved, filer, to spin. 

stirred. le \m,flax. 

fouler, to sprain. la lecture, reading. 

loin, far. le lecteur, the reader. 

pleurer, to iveep. le recueil, the collection. 

profondement, deeply. surtout, above all, especially. 

le tombeau, the tomb. Virgile, Vergil. 

le Tasse, Tasso. le titre, the title. 

Notes. — 4. Le savoir ici. To know him liere = to know that he 
is here. Notice the repetition of the object in the second sentence ; 
this is very frequent in French. 

5. Notice how to say "from each other." 

6. Je crois que non, I think not. Je crois que oui, I think so. 

7. Tout is usually placed before the infinitive of which it is the 
object. 

11. Le Tasse. A number of names of famous persons often have 
the article. 



242 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



For Translation 

1. A baker earns his living selling bread. She earns 
her living singing in a church. 

2. How did you sprain your finger ? I sprained it lift- 
ing that heavy table. 

3. Louis is well. My mother thought he was ill. I do not 
believe you are very happy. Tell me what is agitating you. 

4. They wrote to each other. They are never seen one 
without the other. They drew near each other. 

5. Is Louis up-stairs ? I think so. Did he speak ill of 
you ? I think not. 

6. After reflecting a few moments he confessed all. 

7. Why are those girls weeping ? I found them weep- 
ing bitterly a few moments ago. Do you know why they 
were weeping ? 

8. Tell me what it is that attracts you in Paris. Every- 
thing attracts me there. 

9. What are you reading? What were you reading? 
What must I read to you ? How long have you been read- 
ing ? You said you would read Les Miserables. Who wrote 
Les Miserables ? (It is) Victor Hugo. How do you trans- 
late the title of that poem ? 

10. After taking a walk on the shore of the lake we 
returned home. After taking a walk in the park he returned 
home. After taking a walk in the garden I returned home. 

11. Where did you meet your brother ? I met him while 
going to school. 

12. Relate to us the story of your journey. My uncle 
tells very interesting stories ; he has traveled a great deal. 

13. Are the children well ? 

14. What is that man carrying in his arms ? It is a lit- 
tle dog. 

15. What are you writing? What were you writing ? I 
thought you would write to me oftener. I should have 
written to you oftener if I had had more time. 



THE VERB FAIRE 2<±3 

16. Inscribe your name on the list. Have you inscribed 
your name there ? 

17. Which of the men was elected? He predicted that 
you would be elected. 

18. What do they say ? What were they saying ? What 
will they say ? What must they say ? 

19. She is very amusing. She is amusing her little 
brother. 

LESSON LXI 

1. Learn Faire, to make, to do, to cause 
Like faire : 

contrefaire, to counterfeit ; d6faire ? to undo, to defeat ; 

satisfaire, to satisfy. 

2. What are you doing there ? Qu'est-ce que vous faites la ? 
Have you done your les- Avez-vous fait vos lecons ? 

sons? 

He has made a mistake. II a fait une faute. 

We took a walk. Nous avons fait une prome- 
nade. 

That makes no difference. Cela ne fait rien. 

What is that to you ? Qu'est-ce que cela vous fait ? 

That gives me pleasure. Cela me fait plaisir. 

That grieves me. Cela me fait de la peine. 

The student will find a very great variety in the 
idiomatic uses of faire. A few important ones are 
given above. 

3. Faire + an infinitive 

The doctor has come. Le medecin est venu. 

Have you sent for the doc- Avez-vous fait venir le mede- 

tor ? cin ? 

Cut my hair, if you please. Coupez-moi les cheveux, s'il 

vous plait. 
Have your hair cut. Faites-vous couper les cheveux. 



2±± FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Have you written the let- Avez-yous ecrit la lettre ? 

ter? 
Have you had the letter Ave z-vous fait 6crire la lettre ? 

written ? 
He is haying a house II fait batir une maison. 

built. 
Open the door. Ouvrez la porte. 

Cause the door to be Faites ouvrir la porte. 

opened. 
I have had the door J'ai fait fermer la porte. 

closed. 
She makes dresses. Elle fait des robes. 

She has her dresses made. Elle fait faire ses robes. 

The verb faire is used before an infinitive to 
express the idea that the action is to be done by 
some one or something else. The English equiva- 
lents are have, get, cause) as. Have it done, get it 
done, cause it to he done. 

4. The reed bends. Le roseau. plie. 

The wind bends the reed. Le vent fait plier le roseau. 

In English we often use a verb causatively. In 
French the verb faire must be used in nearly every 
case. 

5. Conde made the Germans Conde fit passer le Ehin aux 

cross the Ehine. Allemands. 

Analysis of the above sentence : 



The English Sentence 

Subject, Conde. Predicate, made. Object, the infinitive 
clause, The Germans cross the Rhine. 



THE VERB FAIRE 245 

The Fkekch Sentence 
Subject, Conde. 
Verb, Jit 

Object of Jit, passer. 
Object of passer, le Rhin. 
Indirect object of Jit, aux Allemands. 

6. That made your brother Cela a fait ouyrir les yeux k 

open his eyes. votre frere. 

The teacher had the boys Le maitre a fait copier la 

copy the sentence. phrase aux Sieves. 

The teacher had them Le maitre leur a fait copier 

copy the sentence. la phrase. 

Here are the sentences Yoici les phrases que le mai- 

which the teacher had tre leur a fait copier. 

them copy. 

When there are two objects in this construction, 
one the person, the other the thing, the object of 
the person becomes the dative or indirect object. 

Note that the participle fait is invariable when 
followed by an infinitive. 

7. 1 have had a coat made for Je me suis fait faire un habit, 
myself. 
She has had a dress made. Elle s'est fait faire une robe. 

When this dative pronoun represents the same 
person as the subject, we have a reflexive verb, and 
the auxiliary to be used for the compound tenses 
is etre. 

EXERCISE 

1. C'etait pour lui un grand desappointement, et qui l'a 
fait beau coup souffrir. 

2. II est_incapable de faire souffrir les_autres. 

3. Je ne peux pas voir souffrir les autres. 



246 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Toutes les qualites de rhomme se laissent voir dans 
son livre, sans ancune affectation, par le seul recit des faits. 

5. II faisait nuit. Nous ne voyions plus rien. 

6. II lui fit rendre l'objet vole. L'objet vole fut rendu. 

7. Je n'eprouvais ni le besoin de tuer les autres ni celui 
de me faire tuer par eux. Je ne savais pas pourquoi on 
faisait cette guerre. 

8. Son pere l'a fait soldat. II s'est laisse faire soldat. 
II s'est fait soldat. Que comptez-vous faire de votre fils? 
J'en ferai un medecin. 

9. II se faisait un grand bruit dans la chambre. 

10. Faites voir la lettre a votre soeur. Je la lui ai fait 
voir. Faites-lui voir aussi celle qu'Andre vous a ecrite. 

11. L'air des montagnes te fera du bien. Vas-y le plus 
tot possible. 

12. Dis a ton frere de venir nous faire une visite. (pa 
me ferait plaisir de l'avoir ici quelque temps. 

13. Hier il faisait froid. Aujourd'hui il fait chaud. 

14. Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui ? Je ne suis pas en- 
core sorti. II fait tres beau, monsieur. Est-ce qu'il fait 
du vent ? 

15. L'aprete du climat le fit partir pour 1'Italie. L'aprete 
du climat lui fit quitter le pays. 

16. Des que nous eumes fait nos malles nous partimes. 

17. Les cocbers de Paris font sans cesse claquer leurs 
fouets. 

18. Nous faisons notre bonheur en faisant celui des 
autres. 

VOCABULARY 

l'apret6 (i), severity, harsh- voler, to steal. 

ness. 6prouver, to experience, to un- 
it cocher, the coachman, cab- dergo. 

driver. la malle, the trunk. 

le fouet, the whip. souffrir (irr. verb), to suffer. 

le r6cit, the account, narra- le temps, the weather. 

faire du bien, to do good. 



THE VERB FAIRE 247 

Notes. — 1, 2, 3, 4. When faire, laisser, entendre, and voir gov- 
ern an infinitive, the infinitive generally follows immediately. 

4. Se laissent voir = allow themselves to be seen. The analysis 
of the English sentence is : Subject, qualities ; verb, allow ; object, the 
infinitive clause, themselves to be seen. The analysis of the French sen- 
tence is : Subject, qualites ; verb, laissent ; object, voir ; object of 
voir, se. This explains why a passive infinitive is apparently rendered 
by an active one. If we think of laisser voir as one word, equivalent 
to show, the construction is clear enough. 

9. II se faisait. Se faire is often used impersonally. The real 
subject of the sentence is bruit. 

13, 14. Faire is used impersonally to describe the weather. 

15. Why le in one sentence and lui in the other f 

For Translation 

1. Send for the coachman. My father sent for the coach- 
man. 

The cab-driver snaps his whip. The cab-drivers were 
snapping their whips. 

2. As soon as I have packed my trunk I shall be ready 
to start. I must have that trunk opened. I have lost the . 
key of it. 

3. The severity of the climate made them start for Italy. 
The teacher made them leave the room. 

4. What time is it ? How is the weather ? How much 
time have we? How many times have you sent for the 
doctor ? 

5. It will be warm. It was warmer in Italy than in 
France. 

6. In northern countries it is cold (countries of the 
north). 

7. I shall pay you a visit next week. That will give me 
much pleasure. You would give me much pleasure by pay- 
ing me a visit this week. My visit did me good. I was 
sure that my visit would do me good. 

8. There is always a great noise in a factory. 

9. It is windy. 

10. He allows himself to be deceived. Do not allow 

17 



248 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

yourself to be deceived. I knew that she would allow her- 
self to be deceived. 

11. France was waging a war against Spain. 

12. I experienced many difficulties during the first 
months. 

13. Do not make anybody suffer. You made me suffer. 
I have never made anybody suffer. 

14. My brother had the poor dog killed. 

15. Who is having that house built ? 

16. It will be a great disappointment for me if you refuse 
to have those flowers planted. 

17. That will make John open his eyes. That will make 
him open his eyes. 

18. The general had the army cross the Ehine. He had 
them cross the Ehine. He had them cross it. 

19. The teacher had us write an exercise. He had us 
write it. He has an exercise written every three days. 

20. I do not write my letters ; I have them written. 



LESSOR LXII 
1. Learn tenir, to hold, and venir, to come. 

Note. — The Preterit appears peculiar to learners. It is: je tins, 
tu tins, il tint, nous tinm.es, vous tintes, ils tinrent; and the 
Imperfect Subjunctive formed from this regularly is : je tinsse, tu 
tinsses, il tint, nous tinssions, vous tinssiez, ils tinssent. 

Like tenir are conjugated : 
s'abstenir, to abstain, maintenir, to maintain. 



appartenir, to belong. obtenir, 


to obtain. 


contenir, to contain. retenir, 


to hold bach, retain. 


entretenir, to entertain, to soutenir, 


to uphold, sustain, 


converse. 


etc. 



USES OF ALLER AND VENIR 249 

Like venir are conjugated : 

convenir, to suit, to agree. pr6venir, to prevent, to notify. 
devenir, to become. revenir, to come bach. 

parvenir, to attain, succeed, se souvenir, to remember, etc. 

Note. — Tenir and venir show the principle of stem-strengthening 
explained in Lesson LIT, Rule 6. 

2. L am going to write a Je vais ecrire une lcttre. 

letter. 
Go and speak to him. Allez lui parler. 

They were about to come lis allaient revenir. 

back. 

Aller is used with a following infinitive to ex- 
press immediate future action. This construction 
corresponds also to the English idiom " go and, loent 
and" etc. 

3. I have just seen him (/ Je viens de le voir. 

come from seeing Mm). 
We have just arrived. Nous venons d'arriver. 

Venir de is used with a following infinitive to 
express immediate past action. 

4. He has just gone out. II vient de sortir. 
He had just gone out. II venait de sortir. 

Only two tenses of venir are used in this way, 
the present and the imperfect. The present corre- 
sponds to the English have just, and the imperfect 
to had just. 

5. He came and told me the II est venu me dire la nou- 

news. velle. 

Come and see us. Venez nous voir. 



250 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Venir governing an infinitive without a preposi- 
tion corresponds to the English idiom " come and? 
Cf. 2 above, second sentence. 

6. Do you remember those Vous souvenez-vous de ces 

days? jours-la? 

I remember them. Je m'en souviens. 

Remember me. Souvenez-vous de moi. 

Remember it. Souvenez-vous-en. 

It is a thing that I re- C'est une chose dont je me 

member very well. souviens tres bien. 

The verb se souvenir requires the preposition de. 
Hence the object it, them, must be expressed by en, 
and the relative pronoun object by dont. A great 
many reflexive verbs have the same construction. 

EXERCISE 

1. Yenez par ici. Je vais^au bureau la-bas acheter 
des billets. Trois billets pour Rouen, aller et retour, en 
deuxieme. Oil est Georges? II est sorti par la. Par oii, 
dites-vous? Par cette porte-la. II est_alle dans la salle 
d'attente. C'est par la qu'on va aux trains. Allons le 
rejoindre. A quelle heure est-ce que nous reviendrons 
demain? Allez vous_informer de l'heure des trains de 
Rouen. II y en_a un le matin, j'en suis sur. C'est par ce 
train-la que ma soeur est revenue l'autre jour. 

2. II s'en_est_alle nous prevenant qu'il reviendrait^ 
avant peu, nous l'attendons a tout moment. 

3. Xous sommes montes an deuxieme etage dans une 
piece qui contenait une trentaine de lits. C'est ici qu'on 
allait mettre les soldats blesses. 

4. II etait convenu que nous nous rencontrerions devant 
l'eglise a cinq heures. J'ai ete exact au rendez-vous. 

5. Apres trois heures d'une marche penible, nous som- 
mes parvenus au sommet. 



USES OF ALLER AND VENIE. 251 

6. Mes amis viendront me chercher a onze lieures. 

7. Tout ce qu'on ponvait dire, c'est que ces geus habi- 
taient le maison depuis un mois, qu'ils n'avaient jamais 
paye un sou, que le proprietaire venait de les chasser, et 
que c'etait un fameux debarras ! 

8. Avant 1870 1' Alsace appartenait a la France. A 
present elle appartient a l'Allemagne. 

9. Bon jour, monsieur! Tiens, c'est vous? Comme 
vous voyez. Mais je vous croyais a la campagne. J'en 
reviens. Comment va votre frere? II ne va pas mieux, 
nous allons l'envoyer en Suisse. 

10. Le loup devient hardi quand la faim le pousse. 

11. Si tu pars je suis stir que tu ne reviendras pas. 

12. Je vous retiendrai une bonne place. 

13. On dit que l'elephant se souvient des injures qu'on 
lui fait. 

14. Vous m'avez dit que vous me tiendriez compagnie 
ce soir. II faut tenir votre parole. 

15. Autrefois j'etudiais le francais, mais je ne suis 
jamais parvenu a le parler couramment. 

16. Je lui ai demande si l'heure que j'avais fixee lui 
convenait. 

VOCABULARY 

Taller (n.), trip outward. avant peu, shortly. 

une attente, a waiting. le billet, the ticket, the note. 

le bureau, the office. couramment, fluently. 

chasser, to expel, drive aivay. exact, punctual, on time. 

un bon debarras, good rid- une injure, a tvrong, an in- 

dance. suit. 

un Stage, a floor, story. une marche, walking, a march. 

un loup, a ivolf. une piece, a room. 

un rendez-vous, meeting- s'informer de, to find out 

place, appointment. about. 

unsou, acent(4o of a franc), aller chercher, ) , 77 . 
i j j. • t. v [to call for. 

le retour, return-trip, re- venir chercher, j J 

turn. 



252 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes. — 1. Par ici, this ivay. 

3. Une piece. We have now had piece in the three different 
meanings : play, room, coin. 

4. When to meet means to meet each other, use the pronominal 
verb in translating it. 

9. The French say bon jour, bon soir, and on parting for the 
night, bonne nu.it. They never say bon matin or bonne apres- 
midi. Tiens and tenez are exclamations of surprise or to call some 
one's attention. Aller is the verb most frequently used in inquiring 
after people's health. Compare the German Wie geht es ? 

15. Parvenir is used as a synonym of reussir. Both these verbs 
require the preposition a before the dependent infinitive. 

16. Notice that when convenir means to suit, it requires a dative. 

For Translation 

1. He is holding me back. He held me back. What 
will hold him back ? 

2. I remember you. Do you remember me ? Does he 
remember her ? I remember the fact. Do you not remem- 
ber it ? Did he remember it ? Would you have remembered 
it ? Do not forget it. Eemember it. 

3. Are you going to ask him if the room suits him? 
Were you not going to ask him whether the room suited 
him? 

4. My cousins say that they are going to come back to 
Paris. They said that they were going to come back to Paris. 

5. John has just arrived. He looks a little pale. He is 
going to leave again for the country in a few days. 

6. I had just come in when you called me. 

7. Where are the children ? They have just gone out. 
They are in the garden. They are going to play a while 
(un peu). 

8. He comes to see me once a week. He came and told 
me he had obtained his father's permission to make us a 
visit next summer. 

9. Which way did Louis go out? He went out that 
way. In future the pupils will come in this way. Which 
way did you say ? 



USES OF ALLEU AND VENIR 253 

10. Go buy the tickets. Take two return-tickets for 
Versailles, second class. Is this the way you go to the 
trains ? This way, sir. Pass through the waiting-room. 

11. We were going to meet at my house. Let's meet at 
the door of the theater. It is agreed that we shall meet 
there at a quarter before eight, isn't it ? I shall be there. 
Be on time. 

12. He calls me every morning. I shall call for you at 
5 o'clock. 

13. How are you? How is your friend ? How are your 
brothers ? They are well, thank you. 

14. You said you would come back early. Louis said 
he would come back early. I shall come back before nine 
o'clock. 

15. Come and keep me company. They come and kept 
us company. You must keep us company. We said we 
should keep you company if you were going to stay at 
home. 

16. Good morning, Mr. Pellissier. 



LESSOR LXIII 



1. I think he has my book. Je crois qu'il a mon livre. 

I do not think he has Je ne crois pas qu'il ait mon 

my book. livre. 

I think he remembers Je crois qu'il se souvient de 

you. vous. 

Do you think he remem- Croyez-vous qu'il s'en sou- 

bers it ? vienne ? 

The subjunctive is used after a negative or in- 
terrogative verb that implies doubt or uncertainty. 



254 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

2. I am not sure that he Je ne suis pas siir qu'il vienne. 

will come. 

I am sure he will come. Je suis siir qu'il viendra. 

Do you think he is hand- Trouvez-vous qu'il soit "beau ? 

some? 

Don't you think he is Ne trouvez-vous pas qu'il est 

handsome ? beau ? 

Only when the speaker wishes to imply doubt 
in his mind is the subjunctive used ; often a nega- 
tive question is equivalent to an affirmation, as in 
the last above. Hence the indicative. 

3. We became friends. Nous sommes devenus amis. 
He is a father. II est pere. 

He became a soldier. II se fit soldat. 

He is a Swede. II est SuSdois. 

He is an artist. II est artiste. 

He is an artist of merit. II est un artiste de merite. 

Predicate nouns of nationality, profession, title, 
used without special adjunct, have no article. 

4. Learn acqu6rir, to acquire, assaillir, to assail. 

courir, to run. cueillir, to gather, to pluck. 
mourir, to die. fair, to flee. 

Like acqu6rir, conjugate conqu6rir, to conquer. 

Like courir, conjugate accourir (with etre), to run up ; 
concourir, to cooperate, to compete ; parcourir, to go through ; 
secourir, to aid, to succor. 

Like cueillir, conjugate accueillir, to ivelcome. 

Like fuir, conjugate s'enfuir, to run away. 

Note. — acquerir and mourir show the principle of stem-strengthen- 
ing explained in Lesson LII, Rule 6. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE 255 

EXERCISE 

1. II mourait de peur, le pauvre innocent, peur des chiens 

qui rodaient w autour de lui, peur de la nuit qui venait, peur 
des_ inconnus qui lui parlaient ; et son petit cceur battait^a 
grands coups dans sa poitrine, comme celui d'un w oiseau qui 
va mourir. 

2. En 1661 Louis XIV avait vingt-trois w ans et il regnait 
depuis dix-huit_ans sans s'etre fait connaitre. Personne 
ne pensait qu'un jeune prince, livre jusqu'alors aux^amuse- 
ments de son w age, osat gouverner par lui-meme. 

3. Je ne crois pas que ce chanteur se soit acquis une 
grande reputation a Paris. 

4. Croyez-vous que ce jeune homme ait raison? Mais 
oui, je crois qu'il a raison, je suis m^me sur qu'il a raison. 
Voulez-vous done dire que j'aie tort ? II n'est guere possi- 
ble que vous ayez tous deux raison. Pardonnez-moi d'etre 
si franc. Je ne crois pas qu'il ait tort. 

5. Croyez-vous vraiment qu'on fasse son bonheur en fai- 
sant celui des autres ? Etes-vous sur que ce soit la un bon 
principe ? J'en suis certain. 

6. Personne ne croyait qu'il fut sur le point de mourir. 

7. Personne ne croira que vous soyez artiste. Ne vous 
flattez pas tant. 

8. Je ne croyais pas qu'on m'eut accueilli si chaleureuse- 
ment. 

9. Croyez-vous que nous ne fassions pas notre devoir, ou 
au moins que nous n'essayions pas de le faire ? 

10. Croyez-vous que nous ayons le temps d'attraper le 
train ? 

11. Croyez-vous qu'il finisse son travail a temps? 

12. Le medecin croyait que le pauvre soldat mourait, 
mais il n'est pas mort. II porte tou jours les traces de la 
maladie affreuse. 

13. Croyez-vous que ma soeur guerisse, docteur ? J'espere 
qu'elle guerira, mademoiselle. 



256 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

14. Louis ne croit pas que Frederic nous attende plus 
longterups ; nous avons tort de nous faire attendre. 

VOCABULARY 
attraper, to catch. affreux, affreuse, dreadful. 

un coup, a stroke, heat. chaleureux, cordial, warm. 

inconnu, inconnue, unknown, se livrer, to give oneself up. 
roder, to prowl. la poitrine, the breast, chest. 

Notes. — 1. Innocent and inconnus are here used as nouns. 
5. Ce soit la. When ce used as subject of etre is to be empha- 
sized, la is placed after the verb. 

10. Avoir le temps. Note the use of the article. 

11. A temps, on time. 

11, 13. The present subjunctive often has a future meaning. 
14. Nous faire attendre. Here nous is the direct object of at- 
tendre. Se faire attendre means to keep somebody waiting for you. 

For Translation 
1. He must acquire a certain reputation. 2. He thinks 
lie will acquire (une) great influence. 3. Why do you run ? 
Why were you running ? He ran and told his mother 
what you said. 4. William the Conqueror conquered Eng- 
land in 1066. Kemember that date. 5. He will die. I am 
dying of hunger. They say they are dying of thirst. I do 
not believe you are dying with the desire {fTenvie) to see 
him. 6. The girls are gathering roses. We shall gather 
flowers together. 7. That little cat is afraid ; he always runs 
away when any one comes near him. 8. We went through 
all the museums in (de) Paris. 9. One of my brothers is a 
lawyer. The other is a doctor. I shall be a painter. 10. 
Are you sure he has talent ? Do you think they are Italians ? 
Do you know whether he is a father? 11. We thought the 
little bird was going to die. 12. Thieves were prowling 
about the town. 13. I do not believe you dare to tell him 
what you think of the thing. 14. He welcomed us very 
warmly. 15. We were on the point of starting. 16. I was 
on the point of writing to you. 17. No one thought that 



THE VERB FALLOIR 257 

she was on the point of death. 18. I do not believe he has 
caught the train. 19. Do you think we shall finish our exer- 
cises on time ? Have I time to write one page more ? 20. 
Are you sure he is Avorthy of the honor you are going to 
confer upon him ? 21. He is a man of merit. 22. Do you 
think she will payback the money? I believe she will give 
you back the money. 23. He has just been elected judge. 



LESSOR LXIV 



1. Learn valoir, to he worth, and vouloir, to will, to 
want, to wish. 

Note. — a. The regular imperative of vouloir is rarely if ever used. 
Veuillez means please, have the kindness to. 

Note. — b. These two verbs show the principle of stem-strengthening 
explained in Lesson LII, Rule 6. 

2. Better late than never. Mieux vaut tard que jamais. 
It is better to try it than II vaut mieux l'essayer que d'y 

to give it up. renoncer. 

The impersonal verb il vaut mieux requires que de 
before the infinitive, which is the second term of 
comparison. 

Note. — To give up a thing is renoncer & une chose. 

I give up my opinion. Je renonce & raon opinion. 

I give it up. J'y renonce. 

3. I want to go with him. Je veux aller avec lui. 

I want you to go with him. Je veux que vous alliez avec lui. 
He would like to go with II voudrait aller avec nous. 

us. 
He would like us to go II voudrait que nous allassions 

with him. avec lui. 

a. The verb vouloir requires the infinitive without a 
preposition, when the action desired is to be done by the 
same person as the subject. 



258 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



b. The verb vouloir, and any verb meaning to desire, 
to command, to allow, to forbid, etc., requires the sub- 
junctive when the action desired is to be done by some 
other than the subject. 

c. Je voudrais, etc., is milder than je veux. It is trans- 
lated, I wish, I shoidd like. 

4. He wishes he were in II voudrait etre a Paris. 
Paris. 

He wishes you were in II voudrait que vous fussiez 
Paris. a Paris. 

When the main verb is in the conditional, the 
dependent verb is usually in the imperfect or plu- 
perfect tense of the subjunctive. 



If they don't believe me, 
let them come and see. 
Let him go out ! 
May he be blessed ! 
Let him come back at 



S'ils ne me croient pas qu'ils 

viennent voir. 
Qu'il sorte ! 
Qu'il soit b6ni ! 
Qu'il revienne tout de suite ! 



once 



Be it so. 



All right. 



Soit (t sounded). 

The subjunctive is here used absolutely — that 
is, without a main verb. We may consider some 
part of the verb vouloir understood, but the better 
explanation is that the third person of the subjunc- 
tive supplies the third person of the imperative. 



6. What do you mean ? 
What does he mean by 

that? 
What does this sentence 
mean? 



Que voulez-vous dire ? 
Qu'est-ce qu'il veut dire par 

cela? 
Que veut dire cette phrase ! 



To mean is translated by vouloir dire. 



THE VERB VOULOIR 259 

EXERCISE 

1. II vaut w innniment mieux avoir toujours l'estime 
des hommes que quelquefois leur admiration. Veuillez me 
dire ou vous^avez trouve cette pensee. C'est^une phrase de 
Jean-Jacques Eousseau. J. J. Rousseau etait Suisse. Plu- 
sieurs Suisses se sont distingues dans la litterature francaise. 

2. Je voudrais savoir pourquoi ma mere n'a pas recu 
cette lettre. 

3. II y a tant de choses qu'on voudrait savoir ! 

4. Pendant ces jours de malheur je croyais vivre dans 
un mauvais reve. 

5. II desire aller au theatre. II desire que vous restiez 
a la maison. II defend que nous sortions. 

6. Je voudrais qu'ils fussent venus de meilleure heure. 

7. Vive le roi ! Vive la France ! 

8. Ne voulez-vous pas chanter cet air ? Je pref ere que 
vous le chantiez, car vous chantez beaucoup mieux que moi. 

9. Louis XIV exigea des principaux fonctionnaires de 
l'Etat qu'ils correspondissent directement avec lui. 

10. Veuillez repeter cette phrase ; je voudrais la copier. 

11. Je les attends ; qu'ils viennent ! 

12. Faites comme vous voudrez; je ne veux pas vous 
donner des conseils. 

13. Cet homme ne vaut pas cher, et son frere ne vaut 
pas mieux. Ce sont des vauriens ! 

14. Le maitre exige que nous ecrivions beaucoup. II 
desire nous former l'oreille et l'oeil en meme temps. 

VOCABULARY 

d6fendre, to forbid. une opinion, an opinion. 

exiger, to require, to exact. une oreille, an ear. 
l'estime (f.), esteem. 

Notes.— 2. Je voudrais savoir often means I wonder. Another 
expression for / wonder is je me demande. 
5. Defendre has two meaning's. 
13. Ne vaut pas cher ; is not much good. Familiar idiom. 



260 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

For Translation 

1. He gave up all his wealth. Why did he give it up ? 

2. You will never succeed in making him believe that. 
Give it up. I do not wish to give it up. It is the truth, 
and I want him to believe it. 

3. I wondered if it would not be better to go to the 
lecture on Victor Hugo than to stay home. 

4. Don't you want to have your hair cut ? These ladies 
wish to have some dresses made. They wish you to make 
them. 

5. They would like us to make them a visit. Should 
you not like to visit them? 

6. I wish the weather were fine. 

7. How much is that house worth? The house was 
worth fifty thousand francs. That house will be worth a 
hundred thousand francs in a few years. 

8. I do not believe that house is worth the price they 
ask. 

9. He wants to go to the theater. He desires you to 
stay home. He forbids our going out. We give up our 
walk. 

10. I wish they had come earlier. I wish I had come 
earlier. 

11. It is agreed that we meet at M. Lassalle's at nine. 

12. What do you mean ? What does that word mean ? 
I did not understand what he meant by that expression. 

13. That means that you will not be here. 

11. I want him to remember it. He wants you to 
remember him. I want them to be punctual. They want 
us to meet them at 3 o'clock. 

15. I should like to speak French fluently. You will 
succeed if you continue to work at it. 

16. He would like to distinguish himself in literature. 
They would have liked to study French literature. 

17. Is it not better to be unhappy than to give up his 
esteem ? 



THE VERB VOULOIR 



261 



18. Please tell me how much this house is worth. 

19. Would it not be better to tell the truth ? Would it 
not have been better to tell the truth ? 



LESSOR LXV 



A silk dress. 

A silkworm. 

A cup of tea. 

A tea-cup. 

A blast of wind. 

A windmill. 

A wooden table. 

A writing-table. 

The blue-eyed girl. 



1. A silk dress. line robe de soie. 

Un ver a soie. 
Une tasse de the. 
Une tasse a the. 
Un coup de vent. 
Un moulin a vent. 
Une table de bois. 
Une table a ecrire. 
La fille aux yeux bleus. 

a. De between two nouns in French may express the 
relation of material or origin. The second noun then 
gives the material or origin. 

h. A between two nouns usually expresses the relation 
of purpose or of means, or it expresses a characteristic. 

2. Learn the verb falloir. 
Falloir is an impersonal verb. 



Note. — This verb also shows 
See Lesson LIT, Rule 6. 

3. It is five o'clock; we must 

go. 

It was five o'clock ; we 

had to go. 
We shall have to go in 

five minutes. 
He said we should have 

to start in five minutes. 
To get there on time we 

should have had to 

start sooner. 



the principle of stem-strengthening. 

II est cinq heures, il faut 

partir. 
II etait cinq heures, il fallait 

partir. 
II faudra partir dans cinq 

minutes. 
II a dit qu'il faudrait partir 

dans cinq minutes. 
Pour y arriver a temps il 

aurait fallu partir plus tot. 



262 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

The infinitive is used after falloir, but only when 
it is perfectly clear who is meant. 

4. You must get up. II faut vous lever. 
We must part. II faut nous quitter. 

When the dependent verb is a reflexive verb the 
infinitive is more usual than the subjunctive, be- 
cause the pronoun object indicates who is meant. 

5. You must go at once ; II faut que vous partiez tout 

Andrew must stay here. de suite et qu'Andre reste 

ici. 

When it is necessary to indicate specifically the 
person or thing meant, falloir requires the dependent 
verb to be in the subjunctive. 

6. Falloir has all the tenses, whereas the English 
must has only one form. The English language 
makes up this deficiency with such forms as had to, 
will be obliged to, etc. 

7. You must not touch it. II ne faut pas le toucher. 

a. In the negative, falloir itself takes the negative 
adverb, and not the following infinitive. 

b. Do not translate the verb falloir by to be necessary. 
The above sentence does not mean " It is not necessary to 
touch it." 

8. It is going to take an II va falloir une heure pour y 

hour to get there. arriver. 

It required all my atten- II fallait toute mon attention 

tion to understand pour comprendre ce qu'il 

what he said. disait. 

I need a new hat. II me faut un chapeau neuf. 

What does he want ? Que lui faut-il ? 



THE VERB FALLOIR 263 

Falloir may have a noun or a pronoun as its 
object. It then means to need, to require, to want. 
The person mentioned as needing, etc., is expressed 
by a dative. 

EXERCISE 

1. II ne faut pas croire tout ce que cet^homme vous^a 
raconte. Je ne dis pas qu'il ait voulu mentir, mais w il exa- 
gere volontiers. 

2. Allons jouer dans la bibliotheque. Non, il ne faut 
pas_y songer. Papa ne veut pas qu'on y aille. II ne veut 
pas que nous derangions ses papiers. 

3. J'ai dit a Marie que nous voulions aller jouer dans la 
bibliotheque, mais elle a dit qu'il ne fallait pas y songer, a, 
cause des papiers de papa qu'il ne veut pas qu'on derange. 
II faut done rester oil nous sommes. 

4. II faut apprendre a se passer de bien des choses. Oui, 
mais il y a des choses dont on ne peut se passer. 

5. II va falloir nous decider a nous quitter, mon cher 
enfant. 

6. II faudra que tu partes avant moi. A quelle heure 
faut-il que je sois de ret our? 

7. La mode est un tyran dont rien ne nous delivre, 
A son bizarre gout il faut s'accommoder ; 

Mais sous ses folles lois etant force de vivre, 
Le sage n'est jamais le premier a la suivre 
M le dernier a la garder. 

8. II fallut un mois a cet homme pour faire le travail. 

9. Combien vous faut-il ? II nous faut cent francs. 

10. Nous avons mange de la tete de veau a la vinaigrette. 

11. J'ai trouve sur la route un fer a cheval. Louis a un 
petit cheval de fer avec lequel il joue. 

12. Un moine allemand a invente la poudre a canon. 

13. Avez-vous tout ce qu'il vous faut ? Que vous faut-il 
de plus? 

18 



264 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

14. Mon oncle etait un homme tres grand, aux epaules 
larges, a la demarche lente. 

VOCABULARY 

s'accommoder, to adapt one- le veau, the calf. 

self. bizarre, odd. 

decider, to settle, to decide. une epaule, a shoulder. 

se decider, to make up one's un fer a cheval, a horseshoe. 

mind. la loi, the law. 

le gout, taste. la mode, fashion. 

large, oroad. se passer de, to do without. 

mentir (irreg. verb), to lie. songer, to think. 

suivre(irreg.verb), to follow, a la vinaigrette, with a sauce 
la demarche, the bearing, of oil and vinegar. 

walk. 

Notes. — 1. Volontiers is often stronger than willingly. II parle 
volontiers means he likes to talk, he is prone to talk. 

2. Songer is in many cases a synonym of penser. Both verbs 
require a. 

4. Se passer de. This is an important idiomatic use of passer. 
As it governs its complement by means of the preposition de, the rela- 
tive pronoun complement is dont, and the personal pronoun referring 
to things is en. 

5. Decider une question = to decide a question ; decider une 
personne = to convince, to induce, or to persuade a person ; se deci- 
der = to decide in the sense of to come to a decision. 

7. Notice that premier and dernier require a before the dependent 
infinitive. 

For Translation 

1. In what countries are silkworms found? 

2. Will you have a cup of tea or a cup of coffee ? I 
prefer coffee, if you please. 

3. George, bring a wine-glass. "Will you have a glass of 
wine, monsieur ? 

4. Have you ever read the story of Don Quixote (Don 
Quichotte) and the windmills ? 

5. There is a box of cigars. Take some. How do you 



THE VERB FALLOIR 265 

say in French to smoke ? To smoke is f timer. Well, sir, I 
do not smoke, thank you. 

6. I am going to study my French lesson. Louise and 
Marie are studying their music lesson. They have a four- 
hand piece now. 

7. We have decided to get up early to-morrow morning. 
We want to see the sunrise on the lake. You will have to 
get up before four o'clock. I will be the first to get up. 

8. I wanted to catch the three o'clock train. Louis 
said I should have had to start from the house at two. I 
did not know it took an hour to get to the station. Yes, 
it takes at least an hour. 

9. It will require all your attention to understand what 
he says. He speaks very fast. 

10. I have lost a gold ring and a pearl necklace. I let 
them fall crossing the garden. I was carrying a lot (un tas) 
of things — a silk dress, my sister's jewels, a broom, and this 
morning's paper. Let us look for them together. You 
must never carry so many things at once. 

11. I was thinking of the beautiful days we had passed 
together. 

12. Would you ask her why she was weeping? You 
mustn't think of it. 

13. To ask him directly what he intended to do was im- 
possible. It was not to be thought of. 

14. You must not take your father's gold pen. If you 
have no pen you will have to do without any. 

15. There are things one can do without. 

16. He will have to get along without my friendship. 

17. How much time do you need to finish the work ? 

18. I decided to pass the winter in Italy. When must 
we decide ? 

19. Why do you pick up that horseshoe ? 

20. Louis and I have not the same tastes. 

21. You must make up your mind to part, my children. 



266 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



LESSOR LXVI 

1. Dormir, dormant, dormi, je dors, je dormis, to 

Bouillir, bouillant, bouilli, je bous, je bouillis, to boil. 

Mentir, mentant, menti, je mens, je mentis, to lie. 

Partir, partant, parti, je pars, je partis, to set out. 

Sentir, sentant, senti, je sens, je sentis, to feel, smell. 

Servir, servant, servi, je sers, je servis, to serve. 

Sortir, sortant, sorti, je sors, je sortis, to go out. 

The above verbs are all alike. The final conso- 
nant of the stem disappears in the present indica- 
tive singular. 

Like the above : 

endormir, to put to sleep. s'endormir, to go to sleep, 

to fall asleep. 
rendormir, to put to sleep se rendormir, to go to 
again. again. 

repartir, to set out again, se repentir, to repent. 



consentir, to consent. se servir, make use. 

2. We regret that he is ill. K"ous regrettons qu'il soit ma- 

lade. 
I am glad he is back. Je suis content qu'il soit de 

retour. 
I wonder you are not ill. Je m'etonne que vous ne soyez 

pas malade. 

A verb expressing emotion or sentiment (such as 
fear, anger, joy, sorrow, wonder} governs the sub- 
junctive mode. 

3. I am afraid he will come. Je crains qu'il ne vienne. 

I am afraid he will not Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas. 
come. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE 267 

I am not afraid he will Je ne crains pas qu'il vienne. 

come. 

I am not afraid he will Je ne crains pas qu'il ne 

not come. vienne pas. 

The verbs craindre, to fear ; avoir peur, to fear ; 
trembler, to tremble, when affirmative, require the 
subjunctive mode dependent upon them to be pre- 
ceded by ne. 

4. I doubt he will succeed. Je doute qu'il r6ussisse. 

I do not doubt but that Je ne doute pas qu'il ne reus- 
he will succeed. sisse. 

The verb douter, when negative, requires the 
dependent subjunctive to be preceded by ne. 

5. I shall prevent his going J'empecherai qu'il ne sorte. 

out. 
Take care lest he fall. Prenez garde qu'il ne tombe. 

Empecher and prendre garde when not interroga- 
tive or negative require ne before the dependent 
subjunctive. 

Note. — According to the rules of the Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion this so-called expletive ne (3, 4, 5 above) may be omitted. 

6. Resume of Vekbs kequiking the Subjunctive 

a. Vouloir and words of like meaning. Such are verbs 
expressing desire, unwillingness, approval, disapproval, com- 
mand, prohibition. 

b. Yerbs expressing uncertainty. 

These verbs must be either impersonal verbs, or 
else interrogative or negative verbs. 

c. Yerbs expressing doubt and denial. 

d. Yerbs expressing emotion. 



268 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

7. Verbs of thinking, declaring, hoping, govern the 
indicative unless they express uncertainty by being 
negative or interrogative. 

EXERCISE 

1. Je crains qu'il ne soit parti pour Eouen. II m'a dit 
hier qu'il comptait w y aller bientot. S'il y est_alle je 
doute qu'il soit de ret our avant samedi. 

2. Le palais des Papes a Avignon sert^aujourd'hui de 
caserne a plusieurs regiments d'infanterie. 

3. Craignez-vous qu'il vienne ? 

4. Quand les ministres vinrent demander au roi Louis 
XIV a qui ils s'adresseraient desormais: "A moi," leur 
repondit-il. Si l'on s'etonne de cette resolution, ce n'est 
pas qu'il l'ait prise, mais qu'il 1'ait tenue. 

5. II est bien a craindre que l'empereur reconnu par les 
puissances europeennes ne soit considere par beaucoup 
comme un usurpateur. 

6. Cette medecine endort. Le bruit m'a reveille ; ce 
n'est qu'au bout d'une heure que je me suis rendormi. 

7. L'enfant dormait paisiblement ; j'hesitais a la re- 
veiller. 

8. Servez-vous de mes plumes, si vous en avez besoin. 
Est-ce que je puis me servir de votre dictionnaire ? Mais 
certainement, servez-vous-en. On se sert de ce beau granit 
pour batir des maisons. Je suis etonne qu'on se serve de 
bois quand il y a tant de pierre. Servez-vous de ces fruits, 
je vous prie. De quoi puis-je vous servir? 

9. II dort mal. Je regrette qu'il dorme si mal. Moi, 
j'ai bien dormi. Je dors ton jours bien. 

10. J'ai peur que vous ne tombiez. Je suis content que 
vous ne soyez pas tombe. Je regrette que vous soyez tombe. 

11. Je crois qu'il partira demain. Je doute qu'il parte 
demain. Le roi ne doutait pas que la bataille ne ftit 
gagnee. 



THE SUBJUNCTIVE 269 

12. II declare que j'etais avec lui. Je nie qu'il fut avec 
moi. Je m'etonne qu'il ait menti. Je declare qu'il a 
menti. 

13. Est-ce qu'ils sont sortis ? Croyez-vous qu'ils soient 
sortis? Je crains qu'ils ne soient sortis. J'espere qu'ils 
ne sortiront pas. 

14. Nous esperions que mon frere guerirait. Nous 
n'esperons plus qu'il guerisse. 

VOCABULARY 

le bout, the end. nier, to deny. 

le pape, the pope, paisible, peaceful. 

je puis, I can. la pierre, the stone. 

Notes. — 2. Servir de caserne, to serve as a barracks. Notice 
this use of de after servir. Regiment is masculine. The suffix 
-ment gives masculine nouns. Infanterie and all nouns in -erie are 
feminine. 

4. Notice de after s'etonner. 

7. Hesiter governs the dependent infinitive with a. 

8. Se servir de, to make use of, to use; a most important construc- 
tion to learn. 

For Translation 

1. That stone serves me as a paper-weight (presse- 
papier). 

2. I repent of it. Do you repent of it? You will 
repent of it. He has repented of it. I fear you will repent 
of it. 

3. He falls asleep easily. I was falling asleep. They 
fell asleep. I knew she would fall asleep. She is afraid I 
may fall asleep. 

4. I wonder at your courage. I wondered that he was 
so frank. 

5. The doctor fears he has sprained his foot. The doc- 
tor says he has sprained his foot. 

6. Make use of my books. Do not hesitate to make use 
of my books. Do not use my father's pen. I use that 



270 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

table. Which table does your mother use? I used that 
table. You must not use that table. Do not use it. 

7. I hope your father will get well. "We are sure you 
will get well. I do not hope she will get well. I fear she 
will not get well. 

8. That will prevent his going out. Nothing will pre- 
vent his going out. 

9. Good morning, sir; have you slept well? I have 
slept well, thank you. How long do you sleep usually ? I 
sleep six hours. I hope you will sleep well. 

10. The water is boiling. The water was boiling. Bring 
me some boiling water. They used hot water. 

11. I doubt that he is happy. Do you doubt that I am 
happy? He did not doubt that the money was lost. I am 
glad the money has been found. He declares that the 
money has been found. He denies that the money has 
been found. 

12. I fear the money has been lost. I am not afraid 
that he has lost the money. Are you afraid he has lost the 
monev ? 



LESSON LXVII 

1. Learn the verb offrir, to offer. 
Like offrir : 

ouvrir, to open. d6couvrir, to discover, uncover. 

couvrir, to cover. rouvrir, to open again. 

souffrir, to suffer. rec ouvrir, to cover again. 
entr'ouvrir, to open slightly. 

2. He is tall. II est grand. 
How tall he is ! du'il est grand ! 

See how heavy he is ! Voyez comme il est lourd ! 

How small it is ! due c'est petit ! 

In French, after que exclamatory or comme there 
is no inversion as in English. 



SUBJUNCTIVE IN RELATIVE CLAUSE 



271 



3. Why didn't you say so ? due ne le disiez-vous ? 

Que may be used for why instead of pourquoi 
with a negative verb only. Pas is then usually 
omitted. 



I am seeking a man who 

shall be capable. 
I know a man who is 

capable. 
Have you a single friend 

who is faithful ? 
I do not know one man 

who has succeeded. 
There is a man who has 

succeeded. 
There are few men who 

have succeeded in 

doing that. 



Je cherche un homme qui 

soit capable. 
Je connais un homme qui est 

capable. 
Avez-vous un seul ami qui 

soit fidele? 
Je ne connais pas un seul 

homme qui ait reussi. 
Voila un homme qui a reussi. 

II y a peu de gens qui aient 
reussi a faire cela. 



The verb in a Relative Clause is in the subjunctive 
when the main clause implies that the antecedent 
is something that does not exist, or may not exist. 



Paris is the most beauti- 
ful city I have ever 
seen. 

I believe he is the only 
friend who has re- 
mained faithful to me. 

It is the best you can do. 



Paris est la plus belle ville que 
j'aie jamais vue. 

Je crois qu'il est le seul ami 
qui me soit reste fidele. 



C'est le mieux que vous puis- 
siez faire. 



The verb in a Relative Clause is in the subjunctive 
when the main clause is an expression of opinion 
and the antecedent is accompanied by a superlative, 
or the words seul, unique, premier, dernier. 



272 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

6. That is the only thing C'est la seule chose qu'iladite. 

he said. 

Here there is no expression of opinion, but the 
statement of a fact. Hence the indicative. 

7. Whatever friends he has. Quelques amis qu'il ait. 
Whoever you are. Qui que vous soyez. 
Whatever you do. Quoi que vous fassiez. 
Whatever be your reasons. Quelles que soient vos raisons. 
However that may be. Quoi qu'il en soit. 
Whatever be his power. Quel que soit son pouvoir. 

The verb in a Relative Clause is in the subjunc- 
tive after qui, quoi, quel. Also after quelque, mean- 
ing whatever. 

8. However great he may be. Quelque grand qu'il soit. 
However patient you are. Si patient que vous soyez. 

The verb in the clause depending upon the ad- 
verbs quelque, si, meaning however, is in the sub- 
junctive. 

EXERCISE 

1. Je suis decourage, je ne fais rien qui vaille. 

2. La prose est la langue de l'histoire et la seule qui 
lui convienne ; la forme versifiee, quelles que soient les 
bonnes^intentions de 1'auteur, laisse trop de place a la 
fantaisie personnelle ; et la rime et la mesure se concilient 
difficilement avec l'exacte verite. II n'est pas probable 
toutefois que ce soient des scrupules de ce genre qui aient_ 
amene Geoffroi de Yillehardouin a rediger en prose, au com- 
mencement du treizieme siecle, sa Clironique sur la conquete 
de Constantinople. Mais n'etant ni clerc, ni trouvere, il 
n'avait ni la science, ni le gout, ni le temps d'ecrire, soit_en 
latin, soit_en vers, il employa la prose vulgaire. 

3. Comme elle est gracieuse, comme ils dansent bien ! 
Tous les yeux se dirigeaient vers les deux danseurs. 



SUBJUNCTIVE IN RELATIVE CLAUSE 273 

4. S'il n'est pas content ici, que ne s'en va-t-il ? Pour- 
qnoi parlez-vous de la sorte ? 

5. Je ne trouve personne qui veuille m'aider. Je cherche 
quelqu'un qui veuille m'aider. Yous voyez en moi quelqu'un 
qui veut vous aider. 

6. Monsieur Le Maltour n'est pas un homme qu'on puisse 
trait er comme cela. Je veux que vous soyez poli avec lui 
comme avec tout le monde. 

7. Je cherche quelque chose qui serve de remede a cela. 
Tachez de decouvrir quelqu'un qui ait l'argent necessaire. 
ISTous avons decouvert quelqu'un qui a les connaissances 
necessaires. 

8. Ce monsieur n'est pas difficile. II se contente de quoi 
que ce soit. 

9. On ne croit plus un menteur. quoi qu'il dise. 

10. Le chien est le seul animal dont la fidelite soit sure. 

11. Quelque riche qu'il soit, il n'est pas heureux. 

12. Quelque petit que soit un objet on peut toujours en 
concevoir un qui le soit davantage. 

13. Qu'il est joli, ce petit chien ! 

14. Quoi que vous disiez, evitez de mentir. 

15. Qui que ce soit qui vous a dit cela, c'est un sot. 

16. Est-ce que Christophe Colomb est veritablement le 
premier qui ait decouvert l'Amerique ? 

VOCABULARY 

se concilier, to harmonize. le trouvere, poet (of the 

le clerc, the churchman. Middle Age in Northern 

eviter, to avoid. France). 

le genre, the kind, sort. la fantaisie, fancy, fantasy. 

gracieux, gr&cieuse, graceful, la rime, rhyme. 

r6diger, to compose, to write, traiter, to treat. 

le remede, the remedy. la v6rit6, truth. 

toutefois, however. vulgaire, ordinary, common, 

la chronique, the chronicle. vulgar. 

davantage, more. 



274: FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes. — 8. Difficile, applied to persons, means hard to please. 

12. le soit davantage. The pronoun le is used here to avoid re- 
peating the adjective petit. In English we generally use so for this 
purpose. Davantage has the same meaning as plus, but there must 
be no complement after it. You may not say davantage grand or davan- 
tage que moi. 

For Translation 

1. Is that really the first church that was built in this 
town ? Yes ; it is the oldest church in the town. 

2. What a beautiful bird ! How beautiful that bird is ! 
How beautiful peacocks are ! However beautiful they are 
I do not like them, because they have disagreeable voices. 

3. Whatever his faults may be, you must not deny that 
he is very generous. That is true ; I do not know any one 
who is more so. 

4. How heavy those books are ! See how heavy they 
are ! However heavy they may be, we must have them car- 
ried up-stairs without unpacking them. Why did you not 
say so sooner ? I have already begun to unpack them. 

5. I do not know any one who has suffered as he has. He 
has suffered a great deal. He does not suffer any more now. 

6. Whatever he does, his sister thinks he is right. 

7. The rhymes are very beautiful. Beautiful as they 
may be, they do not prove that he is a poet. Do you know 
a poet who has written more beautiful verses ? 

8. Was that German monk really the first that invented 
gunpowder ? 

9. Are there any Swiss who have distinguished them- 
selves in French literature ? Is Eousseau the only one who 
has distinguished himself in French literature ? 

10. If he treated you badly, why did you not go away ? 

11. However difficult your exercises are, do not be dis- 
couraged. Try to understand the rules. 

12. I am looking for some one who is willing to keep me 
company this evening. 

13. Louis is the only one of the family who is always 
punctual. 



SUBJUNCTIVE IN RELATIVE CLAUSE 



275 



14. Whatever he said, I am sure his intention was to 
tell the truth. It is the first time that he has been accused 
of lying. 

15. Do you know that man ? Whoever he is, he is very 
disagreeable. 

16. Patient as your sister may be, she will not suffer you 
to say anything whatever against Mile. Claire. 

To unpack, d6baller. 

Disagreeable, desagrSable. 



LESSON LXVIII 

1. Learn asseoir, to seat ; pleuvoir, to rain ; pourvoir, 
to provide^ prevoir, to foresee ; voir, to see. 

Like voir conjugate revoir, to see again. 

Note. — S'asseoir means to seat oneself, to sit down. 

2. Although he is ill, he Bien qu'il soit malade, il vien- 

will come. dra. 

He got away without my II s'est echappe sans que je 
having seen him. l'aie vu. 

The subjunctive is required after certain con- 
junctions. The following are of frequent occur- 
rence : 



pourvu que, provided that. 

sans que, without. 

soit que, whether. 

a moins que, unless. 

de crainte que, for fear that. 

de peur que, for fear that. 
en attendant que, until. 

non pas que, not that. 

Note. — Quoique, meaning though, is written as one word ; quoi 
que, meaning whatever, as two words. 



avant que, 

afin que, 

pour que, 

bien que, 

quoique, 

loin que, 

jusqu'a ce que, until. 

non que, not that 



before. 

in order that. 

in order that. 

although. 

although. 

far from. 



276 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

3. Before you open that win- Avant d'onvrir cette fenetre- 

dow shut this one. la, fermez celle-ci. 

In order that I may prove Ann de vous le prouver je vais 
it to you, I am going to vous montrer sa lettre. 
show you his letter. 

For some of the conjunctions mentioned above 
in Rule 2, we may substitute prepositions when the 
dependent verb has not a different subject from the 
main verb. These prepositions govern the infini- 
tive, of course. This principle of avoiding the sub- 
junctive by using an infinitive construction has been 
seen in Lesson LXIV, Rule 3, and in Lesson LXV, 
Rules 4 and 5. 

Such prepositions are : avant de, afin de, pour, a 
moins de, sans, de crainte de, de peur de. 

Note. — The conjunction after is apres que, and requires the In- 
dicative. For the Rule of the preposition apres see Lesson LX, 
Rule 8. 

4. I'll be back to-morrow un- Je serai de retour demain a 

less some unforeseen moins que quelque affaire 
business detains me. imprevue ne me retienne. 

I seized him by the arm Je le saisis au bras de peur 
lest he should fall. qu'il ne tombat. 

A moins que, de crainte que, and de peur que re- 
quire the subjunctive preceded by ne. 

5. A certain man told me so. Un certain homme me l'a dit. 
We have received posi- Nous avons recu une nouvelle 

tive news. certaine. 

He is a tall man. O'est un homme grand. 

He was a great man. C'etait un grand homme. 

Poor man ! Le pauvre homme ! 



SUBJUNCTIVE WITH CONJUNCTIONS 277 

He is a poor man. C'est un homme pauvre. 

An expensive dress. Une robe chere. 

My dear child. Mon cher enfant. 

He is a fine fellow. C'est un brave gargon. 

He is a brave man. C'est un homme brave. 

The last week. La derniere semaine. 

Last week. La semaine derniere. 

Many adjectives in French have different mean- 
ings according as they precede or follow the noun. 

EXERCISE 

1. II etait la depuis midi, le pauvre petit ! Sa mere 
l'avait w assis sur une chaise et lui avait dit : Sois sage ! et il 
n'avait pas bouge. 

2. II est probable, quoi qu'il sohwmpossible de le prou- 
ver, que des l'epoque oii il fut_elu chef, Boniface de Mont- 
ferrat forma le dessein secret de dutourner vers Constanti- 
nople la Croisade, officiellement dirigee contre Jerusalem. 

3. Loin qu'il soit votre ennemi, il a toujours essaye de 
vous aider. 

4. Asseyez-vous en attendant qu'il revienne. 

5. Soit qu'il parte on qu'il reste je suis decide a m'en 
aller demain. 

6. II n'a pas voulu accepter l'invitation, non qu'il fut 
reellement froisse, mais il croyait qu'il vaudrait mieux ne 
pas s'engager dans cette affaire. 

7. Pour qu'une revolution s'accomplisse il ne suffit pas 
qu'il y ait beaucoup de choses a changer, il faut qu'il y ait 
des hommes propres a faire ce changement. 

8. Au revoir, monsieur. A demain, n'est-ce pas ? 

9. Je vous reverrai a trois heures, n'est-ce pas? Oui. 
A tout a l'heure. 

10. II ne reste qu'a essayer de traverser ce torrent. 
Pourvu que ce soit possible ! 

11. Rentrons avant qu'il pleuve. 



278 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



VOCABULARY 

accomplir, to accomplish. bouger, to budge, to stir. 

le dessein, the purpose. la croisade, the crusade. 

detourner, to turn aside. froisser, to offend. 

propre, fit, proper, able. r6el, r6elle, real. 
sage, wise, good. 

Notes.— 1. Sage, when applied to children, means good, well- 
behaved. 

8. Au revoir is said at parting by persons who expect to meet 
again. Other expressions are : a demain, a mardi soir, a la semaine 
prochaine, etc. 

For Translation 

1. Is it raining? Has it rained? I hope it will not 
rain. I was sure it would rain. Let us go before it rains. 

2. Be seated, I pray you. I was seated. I sat down. 
I had sat down. She was seated. She seated herself. 
Where do you wish to sit ? I do not wish to sit down. 
He desires us to sit here. Where do you want me to sit ? 
I shall sit there. 

3. Hide yourself behind the tree for fear he may see you. 

4. I use this dictionary, while waiting for a better. 

5. Can you pass without our getting up ? 

6. I give you this explanation in order that you may 
remember the facts better. I tell you this to encourage you. 

7. I shall go to bed now, not that I am sleepy, but be- 
cause it is better that I should remain quiet during an hour 
or two. 

8. We shall go to see him provided we have the time. 

9. I shall not wait any longer, unless you think he will 
be here soon. 

10. I shall stay home this evening, unless you want to 
go to the theater. 

11. Days and days passed without our receiving any news 
of him. 

12. I shall remain here until all have gone away. 



SUBJUNCTIVE WITH CONJUNCTIONS 279 

13. Although this story is very amusing, we shall finish 
it another time. I want to write a letter now. I shall read 
this book until you have finished your letter. 

14. I am astonished that you should have read my let- 
ter ; not that there is any secret in it (la dedans), but be- 
cause the letter is not for you. 

15. We went out without Louis seeing us. They came 
in without seeing us. Will he get up on time without your 
calling him ? 

16. I shall hold your hand lest you fall. I shall hold 
your hand for fear of falling. 

17. Although we beg him every day to come with us, he 
refuses every time. Although he has been our neighbor for 
several years we scarcely know him. 

18. My dear girl, where were you last week? Louise 
and I were at our uncle's four weeks. During the last 
week of our stay in the country it rained every day. 

19. I wish to speak to you before you go out. I wish to 
speak to you before I go out. 

20. After you, sir ! After finishing his letter he went 
out. After he had shown me the letter, I asked him what 
he thought of it. 



LESSON LXIX 
1. Learn connaitre and naitre. 

Note. — Wherever the i comes before t it has the circumflex accent. 

Like connaitre : 

reconnaitre, to recognize. paraitre, to appear, seem. 

apparaitre, to appear, come disparaitre, disappear, 
into sight. 

Like naitre : 

renaitre, to be lorn again, to revive. 
19 



280 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



Learn mettre and vivre. 
Like mettre : 



se mettre, to begin. 
6mettre, to emit. 
promettre, to promise. 
admettre, to admit. 



remettre, 
commettre, 
permettre, 
soumettre, 



to put back, hand over, 
to commit, 
to permit, allow, 
to subdue. 



omettre, to leave out. se soumettre, to submit. 



2. I allow him to go out. 
I shall allow him to go 

out. 
I doubt that he has goue 

out. 
I shall doubt that he has 

paid the money until I 

have proof of it. 



Je permets qu'il sorte. 
Je permettrai qu'il sorte. 

Je doute qu'il soit sorti. 

Je douterai qu'il ait paye 
l'argent, jusqu'a ce que j'en 
aie la preuve. 



a. The Present Subjunctive depends usually upon a 
main verb in the Present or Future Tense. 

b. The Past Subjunctive, denoting a completed action, 
likewise depends upon a main verb in the Present or Future 
Tense. 



3. I wanted him to go out. 
I had wished him to go 

out. 
I should have preferred 
it if he had gone away. 



Je voulais qu'il sortit. 
J'avais voulu qu'il sortit. 



pr6f6r6 qu'il fat 



J'aurais 
parti. 

co. The Imperfect Subjunctive depends usually upon a 
main verb in some past tense or in the conditional. 

b. The Pluperfect Subjunctive, denoting a completed 
action, likewise depends upon a main verb in some past 
tense or in the conditional. 

However, the meaning' often requires the above 
rules to be violated. For instance : 



SEQUENCE OF TENSES 281 

I do not say he is to blame. Je ne dis pas qu'il soit a 

blamer. 

But 

I do not say he was to Je ne dis pas qu'il fut a 
blame. blamer. 

4. He was born in France. II est ne" en France. 
Where were you born ? Oii etes-vous ne" ? 

5. Take note that je suis ne is the Past Indefinite of 
naitre, and is not therefore to be translated / am 
born, etc., but I was born, etc. 

EXERCISE 

1. L'ennemi fut mis^en fuite. 

2. II a menace de me mettre en prison. 

3. Cette jeune fille est toujours bien mise. 

4. Paul a tout mis sens dessus dessous dans sa chambre 
(§ 58, 8, c). 

5. L'auteur depeint les maux qui existent en Chine ; il 
dit que malheureusement ces maux ne paraissent pas pres 
de disparaitre. 

6. L'homme n'est pas ne pour devenir esclave. 

7. De nouvelles difficultes naissaient tous les jours. 
J'avais prevu que de nouvelles difficultes naitraient tous 
les jours. 

8. C'est la femme la plus desagreable que j'aie jamais 

connue. 
C'etait la femme la plus desagreable que j'aie jamais 

connue. 
C'etait la femme la plus desagreable que je connusse. 
C'etait la femme la plus desagreable que j'eusse 

jamais connue. 

9. Mon oncle est mort quand j'etais bien jeune ; je ne 
l'ai jamais connu. 



282 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

10. Les plantes poussaient pele-mele dans ce jardin, sans 
que personne s'en souciat le moins du monde. 

L'enfant grandissait, sans que personne s'en occupat. 

11. Mon eleve ne fit pas beaucoup de progres ; non pas 
qu'il eut la t6te dure, il apprenait avec facilite ; mais il 
etait paresseux. 

12. Permettez-moi de vous aider. Voila une chose qui 
n'est pas permise. Voila une phrase que vous avez omise. 
Louis a recite la liste sans omettre un seul nom. Ne remet- 
tons pas a demain ce que nous pouyons faire aujourd'hui. 

13. Ces difficultes disparaitront a mesure que vous avan- 
cerez dans vos etudes. 

14. C'est Mme. Dupont, nee Pavol. La connaissez-vous ? 

15. II se mit a nous raconter son histoire. Nous nous 
mimes a manger les bonnes choses qu'on nous avait ap- 
portees. 

16. Esperez-vous qu'il se soumette ? Esperiez-vous qu'il 
se soumit ? Croyez-vous qu'il soit rentre ? Croyiez-vous 
qu'il fut rentre ? Pref erez-vous que nous sortions ? Auriez- 
vous permis que nous partissions sans vous voir ? 

VOCABULARY 

depeindre, to depict. Strange, strange. 

un esclave, a slave. une 6tude, a study. 

grandir, to grow up. la fuite, flight. 

menacer, to threaten. la facility, facility. 

a mesure que, as {in pro- bien mis, well dressed. 

portion as). mal mis, ill dressed. 

s'occuper de, to concern one- pousser, to grow. 

self about. la prison, the prison. 

le progres, progr ess. sens dessus dessous, upside- 
se soucier de, to care about. doivn, topsy-turvy. 

Notes. — 6. Devenir esclave. Another example of a predicate 
noun without an article. 

7. Naissent. This verb often has the meaning arise, spring up. 
12. Remettre often means to put off, postpone. 



SEQUENCE OF TENSES 283 



For Translation 

1. Do ) 7 ou recognize him ? Did you not recognize him ? 
Would you have recognized him ? 

2. Put on your hat. I was putting on my hat. I put 
on my hat. Must I put on my new hat ? I must put on 
my glasses. 

3. We omit that course this year. We used to omit that 
course every other year. 

4. I admit it. My brother was unwilling to admit it. 
They admit that you are right. Let us admit for the mo- 
ment that he is right. 

5. I submit. He submitted. She submitted. You must 
submit. 

6. Men of genius (genie) are not born every day. 

7. In what year was your brother born ? All the chil- 
dren were born in France. 

8. Where does he live? How does he live? Are they 
still living ? She was still living. He will live a long while 
yet. He lived in the (au) time of Louis XIV. 

9. She said she would be back to-morrow unless she 
were detained. 

10. I tried to find some one who had the necessary 
money. 

11. He wished us to be polite with everybody. 

12. Whatever their reasons were, they refused to promise 
what we asked. Whatever your reason may be, I think you 
are wrong. 

13. Before I went to Paris, Dijon was the largest city I 
had ever seen. M **r 

14. I was afraid they had started from Lyons. 

15. It was greatly to be feared that the emperor, recog- 
nized by the European powers, would be considered by many 
as a usurper. 

16. He says the house is for sale. He said the house 
was for sale. He did not say the house was for sale. 



284 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

17. He is the youngest officer I know. He was the 
youngest officer we knew. Which of those officers do you 
know ? It is the youngest one that I know. 

18. The difficulties kept disappearing as we advanced in 
our studies. 

19. The army was put to flight. The poor man was put 
in prison. He threatened to have me put in prison. I asked 
him what crime I had committed. 

Xotes. — 2. Mettre means to put on when applied to articles of 
clothing, etc. 

8. Do not forget the difference between demeurer and vivre. 

17. Vvh£ must connaitre be in a different mode in the first sen- 
tence and in the fourth % 



LESSOR LXX 

1. I want to go. Je desire aller. 

I want you to go. Je desire que vous alliez. 

He thinks he is very im- II croit etre tres important. 

portant. 

He is afraid I will fall. H craint que je ne tombe. 

He is afraid he will fall. II craint de tomber. 

a. The infinitive is used when the dependent verb has 
not a different subject from the main verb. 

h. In this way the subjunctive is avoided. 

c. When the main verb calls for the indicative the con- 
struction is optional. You may say II dit etre malade, or 
11 dit quHl est malade. The latter is more usual. 

See Lessons LXIV, Rule 3; LXV, Rules 3 and 4; and LXVIII, 
Rule 3. 

2. He likes better to play II aime mieux jouer que de 

than to sing. chanter. 

He likes to stay home as H aime autant rester chez lui 
well as to go out. que de sortir. 



THE INFINITIVE 



285 



After aimer mieux the first infinitive is not pre- 
ceded by a preposition ; the infinitive expressing the 
second term of comparison is preceded by que de. 

3. He is going to write. 
I intend to start early. 



He thought he would die. 

We desire to see you. 

He was sent about his 
business. 

We hope to come. 

He came near falling. 

He dare not speak. 

He appears to want some- 
thing. 

He prefers to stay here. 

He happened to be ab- 
sent. 



II va 6crire. 

Je compte partir de bonne 

he ure. 
II croyait mourir. 
Nous d6sirons yous voir. 
On l'a envoys' promener. 

Nous esp6rons venir. 

II a failli tomber. 

II n'ose pas parler. 

II parait d6sirer quelque 

chose. 
II pr6fere rester ici. 
II se trouvait etre absent. 



Many verbs require the infinitive directly with- 
out a preposition. They are best remembered by 
fixing examples of their use in the mind. 

4. To promise and to keep Promettre et tenir sont deux. 



a promise are two dif- 
ferent things. 
To tell the whole story 
would take too long. 



Dire toute l'histoire, ce serait 
trop long. 

The infinitive may stand at the beginning of a 
sentence as subject. 

5. I prefer not to go. Je prefere ne pas partir. 

He promised to say noth- II a promis de ne rien dire. 

ing. 
I hope not to come here J'espere ne plus revenir ici. 
again. 



286 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Pas, plus, point, rien, are generally placed before 
the infinitive. However, n^tre pas and n'avoir pas 
are quite usual. 

6. He refused me flatly. II m'a refuse net (t sounds). 
You will pay me dearly Vous me le payerez cher. 

for this. 
These flowers smell good. Ces fleurs sentent bon. 

There are a few adjectives in French that are 
used as adverbs in certain expressions. See Lesson 
XXXIX, Sentence 15. 

7. The crowd of children La foule d'enfants 6tait 

was great. grande. 

A crowd of children were Une foule d'enfants jouaient 

playing in the street. dans la rue. 

The majority are in favor La plupart sont en faveur du 

of the bill. pro jet. 

a. Collective nouns preceded by the Definite Article 
usually require a singular verb. 

h. Collective nouns preceded by the Indefinite Article, 
and followed by a plural complement, require a plural 
verb. 

c. La plupart requires a plural verb. 

EXERCISE 

1. Est-ce que c'est moi que ces dames saluent? Je ne 
crois pas les connaitre. Si, on vous_a presente a elles 
Tautre soir chez Madame Lebrun. II va y avoir prochaine- 
ment un concert chez^elle. Comptez-vous_y aller ? 

2. Cet homme, quoique bien pauvre, voulait adopter un 
petit^enfant trouve dans la rue. On lui a demande s'il 
avait des^enfants. Si j'en w ai ! J'en_ai trois. Avec celui- 
la, 9a fera quatre ; mais bah ! quand^il y en_a pour trois, 



THE INFINITIVE 287 

il y en w a pour quatre. Des cas de % generosite pareille ne 
sont pas rares chez les pauvres. 

3. Le roi adresse deux ou trois questions a Elsa. Elle 
s'incline tristement sans rien repondre. 

4. Le comite s'est reuni hier soir. 

5. Un petit nombre de soldats se sauverent. 

6. Le quart de l'armee a peri. 

7. La moifcie seulement des habitants repondit a l'appel. 

8. La soie coute cher depuis l'an dernier. 

9. II faut parler net et sans ambiguite. 

10. Vouloir c'est pouvoir. Qui veut la fin veut les 
moyens. 

11. Je voudrais vous faire une question. Je repondrai 
de mon mieux a toutes les questions que vous me ferez. 
J'aime mieux ne pas repondre a cette question-la. Si vous 
avez des questions a me faire, j'essaierai d'y repondre. Je 
ferai de mon mieux pour y repondre. 

VOCABULARY 

un appel, a call, an appeal, la fin, the end. 

s'incliner, to bow. saluer, to greet, to salute. 

prochainement, shortly, soon, se sauver, to run away, to 
se reunir, to meet. escape. 

la faveur, the favor. 

Notes. — Faillir is oftenest found in the Past Indefinite with the 
meaning I came near, etc. It is a defective verb. Payer has a dif- 
ferent construction in French from pay in English. The thing paid for 
is the direct object usually, and the price is given without a preposition. 
Acheter has the same construction. 

"2. Si j'en ai. In repeating a question" just "asKed," the French usu- 
ally begin with si. Rave you any money ? Have I any money ? Si 
j'ai de l'argent ? 

10. Qui. In proverbial expressions the antecedent of qui is fre- 
quently left understood. 

11. Notice that to ask a question is faire une question. It is not 
French to say demander une question in this sense. Notice the expres- 
sion de mon mieux. 



288 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



For Translation 



1. I think I am ill. He thinks he is stronger than I. 
We think we are right. Yon think yon are his friend. 
They think they are better than other mortals. 

2. He is afraid you will fall. Are yon afraid of falling ? 
We were afraid he might fall. He was not afraid of falling. 

3. I would rather do anything whatever than accept a 
present from him. He would rather stay home than go to 
the concert. I should as lief stay home as go to the con- 
cert. Is there going to be a concert ? 

4. I wonder what he is going to say to me. I wondered 
what questions he was going to ask me. When are we going 
to see you again ? 

5. Allien do you intend to ask your brother for that little 
sum of money ? He desires to pass the examination. My 
mother sent me to look for some roses. I hope to have my 
new dress this afternoon. We came near missing the train. 
He came near being late. She came near breaking her arm. 

6. I dare not hope to succeed in that affair. Dare to 
tell the truth. She said she did not dare to accept the 
money. 

7. You appear to have a good idea. She appeared to 
want to say something. 

8. To tell you why, would be too long. Seeing is believ- 
ing. To abandon the child would be shameful. 

9. Not to finish my studies now would be a cause of 
sorrow for my parents. I shall do my best to finish them. 

10. To be or not to be, that's the question. 

11. I hope never to see him again. 

12. That rose smells good. The hay smelt so good ! 

13. Your stupidity has cost me dear. 

14. Most of the boys have passed their examination. 
Most of the pupils will be promoted. 

15. A great crowd of foreigners were seated in the wait- 
ing-room impatient to start. 



THE PRONOUN LE 



289 



16. The people are certainly against that law. The 
French people are a great people. The crowd gathered 
before the Hotel de Ville. 

17. He looked at me without saying anything. 

18. Where there's a will there's a way. 

19. How many soldiers escaped ? Half of them perished. 

20. Have the committee met yet ? The committee will 
meet shortly — to-morrow, I think. 



LESSON LXXI 



1. Learn prendre, to take. rire, to laugh. 

suivre, to follow. vaincre, to conquer. 

Like prendre conjugate : 

apprendre, to learn, to se m6prendre, to be mistaken, 
teach. 

comprendre, to under- reprendre, to take back, re- 
stand, sume. 

entreprendre, to undertake, surprendre, to surprise. 

Like rire : sourire, to smile. 

Like suivre : poursuivre, to pursue, to continue 

Like vaincre : con vaincre, to convince. 

Note. — Prendre shows the principle of stem-strengthening ex- 
plained in Lesson LII, Rule 6. 



2. Are you tired ? 
I am. 

Are they French ? 
They are. 
That tower appears 

higher than it is. 
We shall go if you wish. 
Is he going with us ? 
I think so. 



Etes-vous fatigue ? 

Je le suis. 

Sont-ils Francais ? 

lis le sont. 

Cette tour parait plus haute 

qu'elle ne Test. 
Nous irons si vous le desirez. 
Est-ce qu'il va avec nous ? 
Je le pense. 



290 FIEST FRENCH BOOK 

The pronoun le is used to stand in place of an 
adjective, or to avoid repeating a preceding clause. 

In the former case it is usually unexpressed in 
English ; in the latter, it is often rendered by so. 

3. Are you the bride ? Etes-vous le mariee ? 
I am. Je la suis. 

Are they your friends ? Sont-ce vos amis ? 
They are. Ce les sont. 

Le, la, les, are used as predicate pronouns, agree- 
ing in gender and number with the noun they 
stand for. 

Le is invariable when it stands for an adjective 
or a clause. 

Are you tired, madame ? Etes-vous fatigu6e, madame ? 

I am. Je le suis. 

4. I see him coming. Je le vois qui vient. 
I saw him fall. Je l'ai vu tomber. 

I hear him singing. Je l'entends qui chante. 

Have you ever heard her L'avez-vous jamais entendue 
sing ? chanter ? 

Verbs of feeling, hearing, seeing, generally have 
a relative clause with qui where the English has 
the present participle, and the infinitive without 
a preposition where the English has the infinitive. 

5. He likes to sing. II aime a chanter. 
There's no use talking. II n'y a pas a dire. 

We have to copy our sen- Nous avons a copier nos 

tences. phrases. 

He invited us to accom- II nous a invites a l'accom- 

pany him. pagner. 



THE INFINITIVE 291 

Help me to shut this Aidez-moi a fermer cette fe- 

window. netre. 

The thing is to be done La chose est a refaire. 

again. 

A great number of verbs require the preposition 
a before the following infinitive. 

6. It is easy to do that. II est facile de faire cela. 

It is useless to try to see II est inutile d'essayer de le 
him. voir. 

The infinitive after an impersonal verb made up 
of etre + an adjective, is preceded by de. The 
infinitive is here the real subject of the sentence. 

7. The problem is easy to Le probleme est facile a re- 

solve, soudre. 

It is easy to solve (mean- C'est facile a re soudre. 
ing the problem). 

Here the infinitive with a depends upon the 
adjective, and is not the logical subject ; it there- 
fore does not come under Rule 6. 

EXERCISE 

1. Une foule s'etait w assemblee autour du petit^enfant 
perdu. L'agent l'avait pris par la main pour le conduire 
au poste. Voyons, personne ne le reclame ? Un_instant ! 
Tout le monde se retourna. Et Ton vit_un homme qui 
souriait. Si personne n'en veut, je le prends, moi. A la 
bonne heure ! C'est bien, ce que vous faites la. Vous^ 
etes w un brave homme. 

2. L'agent demanda : Personne n'a vu les parents s'en 
aller ? 

3. Je crains que vous n'ayez entrepris la une tache qui 
depasse vos forces. 



292 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. Lorsqu'il a su que ses ennemis avaient peri, il n'a pas 
craint de dire qu'ils meritaient leur sort, tant il est aise de 
croire que ceux qui ne jugent pas comme nous sont des 
mediants. 

5. Cinq minutes apres nous reprimes notre marche 
lente, interrompue par des haltes de plus en plus longues. 

6. A qui avez-vous pris cet argent? Je ne l'ai pris a 
personne, je l'ai trouve. J'ai pris toutes ces citations dans 
les pieces de Victor Hugo. 

7. II faudra qu'elle gagne sa vie. Qu'elle apprenne un 
metier. 

8. II est soldat. Je le suis aussi. 

9. II est tres modeste. II ne cherche pas a se mettre en 
avant. 

10. La nouvelle de sa mort ne surprit personne. 

11. Elle fut furieuse, " Je vous apprendrai a me faire 
attendre," dit-elle. 

VOCABULARY 

en avant, fortvard. une citation, a quotation, 

un agent, a policeman, agent, a la bonne heure ! good! 
depasser, to exceed. that's fine ! I'm glad to 

mSchant, bad, loicked, hear it ! 

naughty. r6clamer, to claim. 

le poste, the police-station. la tache, the task. 

Notes. — 1. Agent is here used for agent de police. La poste 
is the post-office. There are many nouns of the same form but of dif- 
ferent genders and meanings. En veut. En is here used idiomat- 
ically. Moi, added for emphasis. There can be no emphasis upon the 
word je. 

4. Tant il est aise. See Lesson LXVII, Rule 2. 

5. De plus en plus, more and more. 

6. To take from a person is Prendre a une personne. To take 
something out of a drawer is Prendre dans un tiroir. / took it from 
him = je le lui ai pris. 

11. When apprendre is used to mean to teach, it is usually fol- 
lowed by an infinitive. With a noun object, to teach is usually en- 
seigner. 



THE INFINITIVE 293 



For Translation 

1. Can it be that he does not understand you ? I am 
convinced of it. 

2. Did you take those handkerchiefs out of my box? 
I took all those words out of that poem. Out of which 
book did you take all those quotations ? 

3. The thief took his watch from him. 

4. Why do you laugh ? I knew you would laugh. We 
laughed a great deal. He likes to laugh. 

5. I follow you. He is following me. The policeman 
was pursuing the thief. The man invited us to follow him. 

6. Let us resume our lesson at the place where we 
stopped. 

7. Is he in Paris ? He is. Is he ill ? He is. Has he 
my book? He has. Has he any books? He has. Is he 
the doctor? He is. 

8. He will go if we wish. I will sing the air if your 
mother wishes. Does she wish it ? I think so. 

9. Are you the dressmaker? I am. 

10. It is natural that he should be tired. It is also 
(natural) that he should want to finish his work. 

11. I saw a man writing at a table. Did you see her 
fall ? I hear my sister playing the piano. We saw some 
one crossing the garden. We saw some one while crossing 
the garden. Did you see my brother go out? I heard 
some one going out a moment ago, but I did not see him. 

12. I heard my brother talking to some one in the 
garden. 

13. I do not like to wait. Would you like to own that 
house? 

14. We have been invited to dine at the palace. 

15. Help me to dress. You told me you would help me 
look for my book. 

16. Are you the men who were here yesterday? We 
are. 



294: FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

17. It is difficult to say why he wrote the letter. It 
was difficult not to lose patience. It will be difficult to 
find a piece of silk like this one. This door is hard to 
open. I say it is difficult to open. These rules are difficult 
to learn. They are difficult to learn. They are useful to 
know. He is hard to convince. 

18. Will you teach me to dance ? That will teach you 
to he prudent. 



LESSON LXXII 



1. Learn conclure, to conclude, coudre, to sew. 

croitre, to grow. plaire, to please. 

taire, to say nothing r6soudre, to resolve, to solve, 
about. 

Like conclure : exclure, to exclude. 
Like plaire : d6plaire, to displease. 

Se taire means to keep silent, to hold one *s peace. 

2. He liked the play. La piece lui a plu. 

I didn't like his behavior. Sa conduite m'a d6plu. 
It is impossible to please II est impossible de plaire 
everybody. a tout le monde. 

Plaire can not have a direct object. The noun 
object is preceded by a. The pronoun object is a 
dative. 

3. I was greatly pleased by the La representation m'a beau- 

performance, coup plu. 

Plaire can not be used passively. 

4. Obey your parents. Obeissez a vos parents. 
He disobeyed the order. II a desobei a l'ordre. 
He will be obeyed. II veut etre ob6i. 

Obeir also requires a, but is used in the passive. 



POSITION OF PRONOUNS 



295 



5. God forbid. A Dieu ne plaise. 

Would to God. Plut a Dieu. 

Notice the above special uses of the subjunctive 

of plaire. 

Je m'adresse a vous. 
II s'est adresse a moi. 
Nous nous adresserons a lui. 
La dame s'est adressee a elle. 
Je vous presenterai a eux. 



6 



II s'est presente a nous. 



I apply to you. 
He applied to me, 
We shall apply to him. 
The lady applied to her. 
I shall introduce you to 

them. 
He introduced himself to 

us. 

When the direct object is any other personal 
pronoun than le, la, les, the dative pronoun must 
not precede the verb, but is placed after it, gov- 
erned by a. 

7. Come to me. Venez a moi. 

I think of him. Je pense a lui. 

He ran to us. II courut a nous. 

With verbs of motion and some others the con- 
junctive pronoun can not be used. The disjunctive 
form is used with a. 

(That is, it is not French to say Je vous pense 
or Je vous vais.) 



8. He thinks only of him- 
self. 
Each one thinks only of 

himself. 
One should not think 
only of oneself. 

Soi is rarely used in modern French except in 
an indefinite, general sense. 

20 



II ne pense qu'a lui. 

Chacun ne pense qu'a soi. 

On ne doit pas penser seule- 
ment a soi. 



296 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



EXERCISE 

1. Aimer quelque chose plus que soi-meme, la est le 
secret de tout ce qui est grand ; savoir vivre en dehors de 
sa personne, la est le but de tout^instinct genereux. 

2. Mes parents voulaient faire de moi un avocat, mais 
le droit ne me plaisait guere. 

3. Un individu, dont je tairai le nom, s'est adresse a moi 
pour savoir si je n'allais pas voter contre vous. 

4. Voulez-vous vous taire ? Taisez-vous. Mon frere m'a 
conseille de me taire. Je me suis tu. Pourquoi est-ce que 
je me tairais ? Tais-toi, Jean. 

5. II resolut de quitter le pays. Voici un probleme que 
je n'ai pas pu resoudre. Tous ces problemes sont difficiles 
a resoudre. 

6. Nous aurions eu plaisir a vous voir chez nous. 

7. Le roi Louis XIII, mal obei pendant sa vie, esperait 
l'etre mieux apres sa mort. II ne le fut pas pourtant. Le 
parlement cassa le testament du roi. 

8. A Dieu ne plaise que je dise du mal de mes collegues ; 
mais je suis le seul ici qui ait de la conscience. 

9. Ici chacun travaille pour soi, sans s'interesser aux 
autres. 

VOCABULARY 

le but, the aim, the ohject. en dehors de, outside of. 

See § 59, 5. un individu, an individual. 

le collegue, the colleague. le testament, the will, testa- 
le droit (right), laiv. ment. 

Notes.— 1. Tout, every. Instinct. See § 42, 8. 

8. La conscience has the three meanings of conscience and con- 
scientiousness and consciousness. 

9. S'interesser requires a after it. 



CERTAIN IRREGULAR VERBS 297 



For Translation 

1. I interested myself in his affairs. He interested him- 
self in me. 

2. My brother is studying law. That is a study I should 
not like. What do you know about it ? You would inter- 
est yourself in it if you felt the importance of it. 

3. Keep still. Why don't you keep still ? I told him 
to keep still. In your place (a voire place) I should have 
kept still. There are moments when it is better to say 
nothing. Learn to hold your peace. We resolved to keep 
silence. 

4. Did you like the concert? How did the performance 
please you ? Do not try to please everybody. 

5. I dislike his behavior very much. His behavior 
greatly displeased my mother. I am seeking the way to 
please him. There is no way of pleasing him. 

6. He received the order to go away. He obeyed (it) 
that same day. The captain ordered the crowd to disperse. 
The order was obeyed on the instant. 

7. If those are the orders that were given you, you must 
obey them. 

8. They are your superiors ; you must obey them. 

9. He applied to me to obtain my consent. 

10. Will you introduce me to that lady? Who intro- 
duced you to her ? He said he would introduce us to his 
sisters. Did he introduce you to them ? 

11. Go to him. Offer him our compliments. Ask him 
to accept this book. 

12. What are you thinking of ? I am thinking of those 
poor wounded soldiers. 

13. My brother is very ill ; I think of him constantly. 
The doctor does not think he will live more than a day or 
two. Try to think of something else. 

14. She is unhappy because of her brother's illness. She 
is thinking of it constantly. 



298 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

15. Eemember what I have told you. Think of it. 

16. The two girls were sewing at a table beside the 
window. 

17. Each one for himself. Is it easy to love another 
better than oneself ? One always finds a greater than one- 
self. 

18. A treaty was concluded between the United States 
and England. Those questions were excluded. 



LESSON LXXIII 



1. Learn boire, to drink ; recevoir, to receive. 
Like recevoir : 

apercevoir, to perceive ; concevoir, to conceive. 
decevoir, to deceive) devoir, to owe. 

Note. — a. All these verbs show the principle of stein-strength- 
ening. 

b. The past participle masculine of devoir is du, written with 
the circumflex accent to distinguish it from the article du. The femi- 
nine is due, without any accent. 

2. How much do you owe Combien lui devez-yous ? 

him? 

I owe him eighty francs. Je lui dois quatre-vingts francs. 

I owed him all my happi- Je lui devais tout mon bon- 

ness. heur. 

Followed by a noun, the verb devoir expresses 
the idea of debt, and is translated by to owe. 

3. I did it because I thought Je l'ai fait, parce que j'ai cru 

I ought to do it. devoir le faire. 

You ought to tell him Vous devriez lui dire toute la 

the whole truth. verite. 

You ought to have told Yous auriez du lui dire toute 

him the whole truth. la verite. 



THE VERB DEVOIR 299 

Followed by an infinitive, devoir often expresses 
duty, obligation. 

a. The conditional present of devoir -J- an infinitive 
present is usually translated by ought + the Present infini- 
tive in English. 

b. The conditional past of devoir -f- an infinitive pres- 
ent is usually translated by ought -\- the Perfect infinitive 
in English. 

c. Ought has no past in English, so we change the 
following infinitive to express past time ; whereas in 
French devoir is a complete verb, having all its tenses. 

4. You should begin earlier Vous devriez commencer plus 

(meaning, you ought to tot. 
begin earlier). 
We should have begun Nous aurions du commencer 
later (meaning, we plus tard. 
ought to have begun 
later). 

Similarly, when should or should have are equiva- 
lent in meaning to ought or ought to have, translate 
by the conditional of devoir, followed by a present 
infinitive. 

5. Children ought to respect Les enfants doivent respecter 

their parents. leurs parents. 

I did not know what it Je ne savais pas ce que je 
was my duty to do. devais faire. 

The indicative mode of devoir is also often 
equivalent to ought. It then usually expresses 
some general obligation or duty, a moral obli- 
gation. 



300 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



I am to go to Xew York 
this afternoon. 

He was to arrive by the 
three o'clock train. 

They are to start soon. 

They were to start be- 
fore ns. 



Je dois aller a Xew York cette 

apres-midi. 
II devait arriver par le train 

de trois henres. 
lis doivent partir bient6t. 
lis devaient partir avant nous. 



The present arid imperfect of devoir + an infini- 
tive are often expressed in English by am to, was 
to, etc. The verb here expresses probable futurity, 
with more or less of the idea of obligation. 

7. He is covered with dust 
he must have fallen. 
She must have been beau 



tiful in her youth. 
After so long a journey 

you must be tired. 
His overcoat and hat are 

not here ; he must have 

gone out. 



II est convert de poussiere, il 

a du tomber. 
Elle a du etre belle dans sa 

jeunesse. 
Apres un si long voyage, vous 

devez etre fatigue. 
Son pardessus et son chapeau 

ne sont pas ici, il doit etre 

sorti. 



Must, implying inference on the part of the 
speaker, is usually expressed by the verb devoir 
(sometimes, however, by falloir). 

Must, expressing necessity, is falloir. 

8. Shall I accompany you ? Dois-je vous accompagner ? 
Shall If is commonly rendered by dois-je ? 

EXERCISE 

1. Un homme ne doit jamais rougir d'avouer qu'il a tort, 
car, en faisant cet^aveu, il prouve qu'il est plus sage au- 
jourd'hui qu'hier. 

2. II signa un traite avec les Venitiens, par lequel ceux- 



THE VERB DEVOIR 301 

ci s'engageaient w a transporter en Syrie 33,500 hommes et 
3,500 chevaux; de plus, ils devaient fournir cinquante 
galeres_armees. 

3. Nous devions prendre part a l'expedition ; nous en 
avons ete empeches a la derniere minute. 

4. Vous auriez du. comprendre que vons n'ayiez pas le 
droit de parler ainsi a un homme plus age que vous. 

5. Je bois a la sante de monsieur votre pere ! A votre 
sante, monsieur ! A la votre ! Dans quel verre est-ce que 
j'ai bu? 

6. Ce qui est bien remarquable, c'est que ce jeune prince, 
qui prenait si hardiment le pouvoir, avait deja con9U le 
plan de sa politique. 

7. Louis XIV croyait que les rois ont aussi des devoirs a 
remplir ; nous devons, disait-il, considerer le bien de nos 
sujets plus que le notre propre. 

8. Quiconque cherche la verite ne doit etre d'aucun 
pays. 

9. Quel couteau dois-je prendre? Prenez un couteau 
quelconque. 

10. Lorsque j'ai vu les chutes du Niagara pour la pre- 
miere fois j'ai ete un peu decu. 

11. Quelle amere deception pour lui, lorsqu'il a su la 
traliison de son ami ! 

VOCABULARY 

un aveu, a confession, s'engager, to pledge oneself. 

le bien, the good, the ivelfare. la galere, the galley. 

le devoir, the duty. hardi, hardie (h asp.), bold. 

propre, own. la politique, the policy. 

quiconque, whoever. quelconque, any . . . whatever, 

un trait6, a treaty. de plus, furthermore. 

Notes. — 1. Rougir requires de before the infinitive it governs. 

2. Engager governs the infinitive by means of the preposition a. 

3. Prendre part requires the preposition a ; hence it requires the 
pronoun y. 



302 FIKST FRENCH BOOK 

5. To drink out of a glass is boire dans un verre ; like prendre 
dans une boite. 

7. Remplir is here translated to fulfil. Propre, clean', hence 
proprete, cleanliness. Propre, meaning own, and propriete, prop- 
erty, are to be associated together. Propre also has the meaning fit. 

10. Decevoir generally means to disappoint, to disillusion, 

11. Deception, disappointment, disenchantment. 

For Translation 

1. Must I drink this water ? We were drinking choco- 
late. He drank a glass of milk. I was sure you would not 
drink that wine. Let us drink to your mother's health ! 
To your health ! You ought not to drink out of that glass ; 
it is not clean. 

2. You will receive an answer to your letter in a few 
days. I was sure you would receive an answer to-day. 
These ladies receive flowers every day. We used to receive 
a letter from our brother every day. 

3. You speak French well ; you must have made a long 
stay in France. 

4. The door was open ; he must have heard everything. 

5. I have a duty to fulfil. He tries to fulfil all his 
duties. 

6. Every good citizen ought to vote. Every man ought 
to love his country and work for its good. Children ought 
to honor their parents. A man who respects himself ought 
never to act thus. 

7. I am to dine with Dr. Goupil this evening. That 
lady was to sing this evening, but she has a cold. 

8. Louis ought to have brought his copy-book. 

9. We were to arrive at eleven, but it was half an hour 
past midnight when we got home. The train was over an 
hour late. (See Lesson XXXIII.) 

10. I am waiting for the postman. He is likely to arrive 
at any moment. 

11. Your grandfather must be over eighty. Oh, yes ; he 
was born in 1820. 



THE VERB DEVOIR 303 

12. There must be some forks in that drawer ; I have 
not taken any. 

13. I hear a (du) noise in John's room. He must be up. 

14. You should not have forgotten to mail that letter ; 
I told you it was very important. 

15. I ought to pay back that money at the end of the 
month. I ought to have paid back that money last week. 
How much do you owe him ? 

16. I owed him a visit. 

17. Are you not going to attend the wedding? You 
ought not to miss it. 

18. Those young men should have understood that they 
had no right to speak thus to a man older than themselves. 

19. He owes all he has to his own energy. He said he 
owed all his happiness to me. 

20. You ought not to risk your money in that affair. 
You ought not to have acted without consulting your 
father. 

21. What shall I do to win his esteem ? 

22. The boys must have received the presents they were 
waiting for ; they look so happy (Us out Vair, etc.). 

23. Ought one always to tell the whole truth ? 

24. Were you to take part in the ceremony ? We were 
to take part in it. What prevented you from taking part 
in it? 

LESSON LXXIV 

1. Learn pouvoir, to he able. 

Note. — Puis-je, and not peux-je, is the proper interrogative 
form. 

2. He is better; he can walk II va mieux, il peut marcher 

now. maintenant. 

Not being able to open Ne pouvant pas ouvrir la porte, 

the door, I got in je suis entre par la fenetre. 
through the window. 



304 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

He says he could not lift II dit qu'il ne pouvait pas sou- 
the weight. lever le poids. 

I tried to open it ; I could J'ai essaye de l'ouvrir ; je n'ai 
not. pas pu. 

He can not have said II n'a pas pu dire cela. 
that. 

Can he have escaped ? A-t-il pu s'echapper ? 

Pouvoir expresses the idea of possibility. In 
English it is rendered by the words can, could, the 
forms of to be able, may, might, etc. 

Present Indicative 

May I help you? Puis-je vous aider? 

You may go with him. Vous pouvez aller avec lui. 

He is unable to raise his arm. II ne peut pas lever le bras. 

Imperfect Indicative 

The stone might have fallen La pierre pouvait tomber a 

at any moment (meaning tout moment, 
it was possible all along). 

Couldn't he come with us ? Xe pouvait-il pas venir avec 

•nous? 

He was possibly twenty II pouvait avoir vingt ans. 
years of age. 

Past Indefinite 

I did what I could to please J'ai fait ce que j'ai pu pour 

him. lui plaire. 

Were you able to find it ? L'avez-vous pu trouver ? 

Past Definite 

After a siege of three weeks Apres un siege de trois se- 
they were finally able to maines ils purent enfin pe- 
get into the city. netrer dans la ville. 



THE VERB POUVOIR 305 

Plupekfect Indicative 

I should have gone had it J'y serais alle si j'avais pu. 

been possible. 

He said he had not been II a dit qu'il n'avait pas pu 

able to find the man. trouver l'homme. 

Future Indicative 

I think he will be able to Je crois qu'il pourra nous le 

let us know to-morrow. faire savoir demain. 

We shall do all we can. Nous ferons tout ce que 

pourrons faire. 

Conditional Present 

He wrote that he would be II a ecrit qu'il pourrait partir 

able to start to-day. aujourd'hui. 

If we had the key we could Si nous avions la cle nous 

open this door. pourrions ouvrir cette porte. 

You might tell him what I Vous pourriez lui dire ce que 

say. je dis. 

Conditional Past 

You might have gone with Vous auriez pu l'accompagner. 

him. 

He could have gone if he II aurait pu partir s'il avait 

had received the money. recu l'argent. 

Present Subjunctive 

I do not believe he can go Je ne crois pas qu'il puisse 
out. sortir. 

3. In choosing the proper form of pouvoir in trans- 
lating into French, the student must get at the real 
meaning of the English word. I could = I was able 
all along, or I was able at that moment, or I should 
be able. 



306 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. He could do nothing II ne pouvait rien contre un 

against such an enemy. tel ennemi. 
He thought he could do II croyait qu'il pouyait tout, 
everything. 

Pouvoir is sometimes used without au infinitive 
after it. 

5. Can that be ? Est-ce que cela se peut ? 
Can it be that he is dead ? Se peut-il qu'il soit mort ? 
That can not be. Cela ne se peut pas. 

Se pouvoir is used only in the third person. 

6. May he succeed ! Puisse-t-il reussir ! 

May you be happy ! Puissiez-vous etre heureux ! 

May I never see him Puiss6-je ne jamais le revoir ! 
again ! 

The present subjunctive of pouvoir is used abso- 
lutely to express a wish. 

a. The accent in puiss6-je (pron. puisseje) is to be ex- 
plained as in porte-je. 

7. Notice the analogies in the two tenses of the 
conditional of devoir, pouvoir, and vouloir. 

You ought to go. Vous devriez aller. 

You might go (if you chose). Vous pourriez aller. 

You would like to go. Vous voudriez aller. 

You ought to have gone. Vous auriez du aller. 

You might have gone. Vous auriez pu aller. 

You would have liked to go. Vous auriez voulu aller. 

EXERCISE 

1. En descendant la montagne a dos de mulet ma soeur 
avait peur, mais l'homme qui conduisait l'a rassuree en lui 
disant que les mulet s ont le pied sur, on peut s'y fier. 



THE VERB POUVOIR 307 

2. Quoi qu'on puisse dire, sa conduite a ete singu- 
liere ! 

3. II ne me semble pas que ce monsieur ait rien dit qui 
puisse vous blesser. 

4. De tels noeuds n'ont pu etre faits que par un matelot. 

5. II faut se garder de faire quoi que ce soit qui puisse 
troubler l'ordre dans les provinces. 

6. Quelles que puissent etre les dimcultes de l'entre- 
prise, il n'est pas douteux que les puissances coalisees 
auront raison de la resistance des Chinois. 

7. A present, vous pouvez continuer ; j'espere que nous 
ne serons plus interrompus. 

8. Le pere dit a ses fils : Tant que vous serez bien unis, 
vous serez forts et personne ne pourra vous vaincre. 

9. II leur dit que tant qu'ils seraient bien unis, ils se- 
raient forts et que personne ne pourrait les vaincre. 

10. ISTe pouvant pas le voir, je lui ai ecrit. 

11. Votre ennemi est trop puissant, pour que vous pen- 
siez a vous venger. Vous ne pouvez rien contre lui. 

12. L'astrologue dit au roi, " Je suis certain de mourir 
trois jours avant votre majeste." Le roi fit done tout ce 
qui etait en son pouvoir pour retarder la mort de celui 
qu'il devait sitot suivre. 

13. Puis-je sortir ? Vous pouvez sortir. II m'a dit que 
je pouvais sortir. Le medecin m'a dit que je pourrais sortir 
la semaine prochaine. 

VOCABULARY 

un astrologue, an astrologer, se garder de faire, to take care 
le mulet, the mule. not to do. 

le matelot, the sailor. la majesty the majesty. 

le noeud, the knot. avoir raison de quelque chose, 
retarder, to delay. to overcome something. 

sitot, so soon. venger, to avenge. 

se fier a quelqu'un, to trust se venger, to take vengeance, 
some one. 



308 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

Notes. — 1. A dos de mulet : Idiomatic phrase. 

5. Se garder de. Literally to keep oneself from. 

6. Auront raison de. This phrase often means to overcome, to 
get the letter of. 

8, 9, 13. Notice that in indirect quotation the tenses change. The 
Present becomes the Imperfect, the Future becomes the Conditional. 

11. Venger, se venger. We have remarked before that the mean- 
ing of a reflexive verb can not always be readily inferred from the sim- 
ple verb. 

12. Astrologue. So an astronomer is un astronome ; a philoso- 
pher, un philosophe ; a photographer, un photographe. 



For Translation 

1. Can you tell me the names of all these animals ? 

2. Can I trust you ? Can he be trusted ? Can they not 
trust me ? You may trust yourself to his honor. He said 
I might trust him. That mule is sure-footed; we may 
trust it. 

3. I do not believe he has done anything that can dis- 
please you. 

4. Only a sailor can have made such a knot. 

5. I shall take care not to say anything to him that can 
wound him. 

6. It seems to me that the allied powers might have got 
the better of the resistance of the Chinese. That is what 
they did ! 

7. May I go on ? Go on, please. Why do you hesitate ? 
I thought we might be interrupted. 

8. Can it be that he is ill again ? Could it be that he 
was ill again ? 

9. May we sit down here ? You may sit down here. The 
doctor says my brother will be able to go out to-morrow. 
The doctor said my brother would be able to go out 
to-morrow. 

10. I shall do all that is in my power to render him 
happy. 

11. He said, " May I die if I am not telling the truth! " 



THE VERB POUVOIR 309 

12. May he be happy ! That is all I ask. May they 
never learn the truth ! 

13. He might have gone to the concert if he had 
wished (it). 

14. Whatever may be your reasons, I consider your con- 
duct very peculiar. 

15. The doctor says he may die at any moment. The 
doctor said he might die at any moment. 

16. After waiting hours we were at last able to see him. 

17. I answered that we had not been able to see him. 

18. How have they been able to see each other ? 

19. You might have escaped easily. How might I have 
escaped ? 

20. Could you not send for a doctor ? That is what I 
should have done. 

21. We looked for the house this morning, but we were 
unable to find it. We should have asked if it was for sale, 
if we had been able to find it. 



LESSON LXXV 

1. Learn savoir, to know. 

2. Can you swim ? Savez-vous nager ? 

Do you know how to play Savez-vous jouer du piano ? 
the piano ? 

Savoir -\- sua. infinitive means to knoio how. When 
can has the meaning to know hoiv, translate it by 
savoir. How is not expressed here. 

3. I can not help you. Je ne saurais vous aider. 

The conditional of savoir, preceded by ne, is 
often translated by can. 



310 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

4. He did not cease tor- II ne cessait de me tourmen- 

menting me. ter. 

I did not dare tell him. Je n'osais le lui dire. 

He can't be far. H ne peut etre loin. 

TVe didn't know what Xous ne savions que faire. 

to do. 

The word ne without pas suffices for the nega- 
tive forms of the four verbs cesser, oser, pouvoir, 
savoir. 

However, the word pas may be used. 

5. He has never written II n'a jamais ecrit depuis son 

since he went away, depart, que je sache. 
as far as I know. 

Notice the above idiomatic use of the subjunc- 
tive present of savoir. 

6. There was an indefinable II y avait un je ne sais quoi 

something in his look d'extraordinaire dans son 
that was extraordinary. regard. 

The phrase je ne sais quoi is of very frequent use 
in French. 

7. Do you know whether he Savez-vous s'il viendra? 

will come ? 
I did not know if he Je ne savais s'il viendrait. 
would come. 

Si, in conditional sentences, can not be followed 
by either the future or the conditional. See Lesson 
XXXIX. 

But si, introducing an indirect question, may be 
followed by any tense whatever of the indicative 
or conditional. Si is then equivalent to whether. 



THE CONDITIONAL 311 

8. Another man would have j Un autre eut 6t6 d6courage\ 

been discouraged. ( Un autre se fut d6courag6. 

You would have done Vous eussiez mieux fait si 
better if you had gone vous fussiez parti sur-le- 
away at once. champ. 

The pluperfect subjunctive is used both in the 
supposition and in the conclusion of a conditional 
sentence, instead of the pluperfect indicative and 
past conditional respectively. This construction is 
confined, as a rule, to literary style. 

9. If you offered me double, Vous m'offririez le double que 

I should not be willing je ne voudrais pas l'accepter. 
to accept it. 

If I were losing my own Je perdrais mon propre frere 

brother, I should not que j'aurais moins de cha- 

feel so badly. grin. 

Very often, in French, both clauses of a condi- 
tional sentence are put in the conditional. In that 
case the conjunction que introduces the conclusion, 
and the supposition is without any conjunction. 

10. Even though I should Quand meme j'en mourrais je 

die for it, I would not ne le ferais pas. 
do it. 

Quand meme is followed by the conditional. 

EXERCISE 

1. On poussa devant l'homme un gros livre. Comme il 
ne savait pas ecrire, il fit w une croix au bas de la page. 

2. La Croisade, c'est le grand evenement du moyen age ; 
on n'en saurait grossir l'importance. 

3. On ignore si Yillehardouin naquit dans le chateau de 

21 



312 FIRST FEENCH BOOK 

ces ancetres. Tout ce qu'on sait de lui, avant le temps de 
la Croisade, c'est qu'il etait marechal de Champagne en 
1191. 

4. Si j'ai su profiter des circonstances, j'ai fait ce que 
tout autre aurait fait a ma place. 

5. Cette nomination ne saurait etre que favorablement 
accueillie. 

6. II gagna la victoire et il sut en profiter. 

7. Savez-vous patiner ? Votre frere sait-il danser ? Ces 
petites filles savent-elles coudre ? 

8. Le petit cliien n'osait toucher a ce qui lui etait 
offert. 

9. II y avait un tel desordre dans la maison qu'on ne 
savait plus ou se mettre. 

10. Sachez, mon ami, qu'il n'y a pas d'erreur plus grande 
que de croire qu'on puisse conserver longtemps l'estime des 
gens sans la meriter. 

11. Cette maison, vous l'eussiez prise pour un arsenal, 
tant il y avait de fusils, de coutelas et de sabres pendus aux 
parois. 

12. Savez-vous quels appointements il recevra? Nous 
le saurons demain. Nous avons un rendez-vous avec M. 
Dubois pour demain soir. 

13. Nous ne savions pas quelle difference il y a entre 
chretiente et christiauisme, avant que vous nous l'eussiez 
expliquee. 

14. Quand vous arriverez a Paris faites-le-moi savoir. 

15. Je connais bien M. Vergnet ; je l'ai toujours con- 
siclere comme un homme sense. 

16. Louis a pleure quand il a su le malheur qui est 
arrive a son frere ; il est tres sensible. 

17. Le general prit son parti sans hesiter. Je ne sais 
quel parti prendre. 

18. La Eussie a eu la part du lion. 

19. Le parti royaliste a perdu des votes dans cette 
election. 



THE VERB SAVOIR 313 

20. Divisez le gateau en six parties egales. 

21. J'ai pris part a la conversation. J'y ai pris part. 

22. Combien de parties avons-nous gagnees, savez-yous ? 

VOCABULARY 

les appointements (m.), sal- le rendez-vous, the appoint- 

ary. ment. 

un coutelas, a cutlass. sensible, tender-hearted, full 
un evenement, an event. of feeling. 

le gateau, the calce. la chr6tient6, Christendom. 

ignorer, not to knoio. le christianisme, Christianity. 

le moyen age, the Middle grossir, to magnify. 

Age. maman, mamma. 

patiner., to sJcate. le marshal, the marshal. 

le parti, the party (polit- la paroi, the wall. 

ical), the course of con- la part, the share. 

duct. la partie, (1) the part, (2) the 
prendre parti, to decide one game. 

way or the other. profiter de, to take advantage 
prendre part a, to take part of. 

in. sens6, sensible. 

Notes. — 3. Ignorer. This verb does not translate the English 
ignore ; it means merely not to know, to be unaware. 

4. Si j'ai su. We have here the past indefinite after si, because 
there is no hypothesis, but a statement of fact. 

11. Pendus aux parois. So hanging from the ceiling is pendu 
or suspendu au plafond. 

For Translation 

1. Do you know how to skate ? Does your sister know 
how to play the piano ? I thought you knew how to 
dance. 

2. Where does Mme. Blanc live ? I can not tell you. 

3. He was sleeping peacefully; we dared not waken 
him. 

4. Tell me the whole truth. I dare not. 



314 FIRST FRENCH BOOK 

5. I do not know what to do. I did not know what to 
answer. I did not know what to decide upon. 

6. I am looking for a man who knows Spanish. There 
is no one here who knows Spanish. 

7. Those two hoys did not cease quarreling. Louis says 
now, that he did not have his share of the cake. 

8. The two friends never saw each other again, as far as 
I know. 

9. Do you know whether he will go to Naples ? I did 
not know if we should ever see each other again. If you 
saw him again, would you recognize him ? I do not know 
whether I should recognize him. 

10. If I saw all abandon you, I should not cease to he 
your friend ; know that. 

11. I am not unaware that he lied to you. Can you 
not forgive him? Even though he should beg me to 
forgive him, I could not do it ; I can never forget his 
betrayal. 

12. There used to be many persons who did not know 
how to write. Often they would make a cross instead of 
writing their names. 

13. Can it be that he does not know what is meant by 
the Middle Age ! Has he never studied history ? 

14. One must know how to profit by the opportunities 
that offer themselves. 

15. How do they know what they would have done? 

16. A girl ought to know how to sew. 

17. I am astonished that you do not know how to 
swim. 

18. You would have believed that he was the equal of a 
king, if you had seen the airs he gave himself. 

19. I did not know your brother had so much feeling. 

20. Do you know who won the last game ? 

21. When you wish to see me, let me know. 



THE TWO AUXILIARY VERBS 



315 



THE AUXILIARY VERB AVOIR 



Pres. inf. 


avoir. 


Past inf. 


avoir eu. 


Pres. part. 


ayant. 


Comp. part, ayant eu. 


Past part. 


en. 








Indicative Mode 




Present. 


j'ai, 


Past indef. 


j'ai eu, 




tu as, 




tu as eu, 




il a, 




il a eu, 




nous avons, 




nous avons eu, 




vous avez, 




vous avez eu, 




ils out. 




ils ont eu. 


Imperfect. 


j'avais, 


Pluperfect. 


j'avais eu, 




tu avais, 




tu avais eu, 




il avait, 




il avait eu, 




nous avions, 




nous avions eu, 




vous aviez, 




vous aviez eu, 




ils avaient. 




ils avaient eu. 


Past definite 


. j'eus, 


Past ant. 


j'eus eu, 




tu eus, 




tu eus eu, 




il eut, 




il eut eu, 




nous eumes, 




nous eumes eu, 




vous eutes, 




nous eutes eu, 




ils eurent. 




ils eurent eu. 


Future. 


j'aurai, 


Future ant 


. j'aurai eu, 




tu auras, 




tu auras eu, 




il aura, 




il aura eu, 




nous aurons, 




nous aurons eu, 




vous aurez, 




vous aurez eu, 




ils auront. 




ils auront eu. 




Conditional Mode 




Present. 


j'aurais, 


Past. 


j'aurais eu, 




tu aurais, 




tu aurais eu, 




il aurait, 




il aurait eu, 




nous aurions, 




nous aurions eu, 




vous auriez, 




vous auriez eu, 




ils auraient. 




ils auraient eu. 



316 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



Subjunctive Mode 

Present. j'aie, Past. j'aie eu, 

tu aies, tu aies eu, 

il ait, il ait eu, 

nous ayons, nous ayons eu, 

vous ayez, vous ayez eu, 

ils aient. il aient eu. 

Imperfect. j'eusse, Pluperfect, j'eusse eu, 

tu eusses, tu eusses eu, 

il eut, il eut eu, 

nous eussions, nous eussions eu, 

vous eussiez, vous eussiez eu, 

ils eussent. ils eussent eu. 



aie, 



Imperative Mode 
ayons, 



THE AUXILIARY VERB ETRE 



Pres. inf. 


etre. 


Past inf. 


avoir ete. 


Pres. part. 


etant. 


Comp. part, ayant ete. 


Past part. 


ete. 








Indicative Mode 




Present. 


je suis, 


Past def. 


j'ai ete, 




tu es, 




tu as et6, 




il est, 




il a ete, 




nous sommes, 




nous avons ete, 




vous etes, 




vous avez ete, 




ils sont. 




ils ont ete. 


Imperfect. 


j'etais, 


Pluperfect. 


j'avais ete, 




tu etais, 




tu avais ete, 




il etait, 




il avait ete, 




nous etions, 




nous avions ete, 




vous etiez, 




vous aviez et6, 




ils etaient. 




ils avaient ete. 



THE TWO AUXILIARY VERBS 



317 



Past definite, je fus, 
tu fus, 



Future. 



Present. 



Present. 



Imperfect. 



il fut, 
nous fumes, 
vous futes, 
ils furent. 
je serai, 
tu seras, 
il sera, 
nous serons, 
vous serez, 
ils seront. 



Past ant. j'eus 6t6, 
tu eus 6te, 
il eut 6t6, 
nous eumes 6t6, 
vous eutes 6te, 
ils eurent 6te. 

Future ant. j'aurai 6t6, 
tu auras 6t6, 
il aura 6te, 
nous aurons 6te, 
vous aurez 6te, 
ils auront 6te. 



Conditional Mode 



je serais, 
tu serais, 
il serait, 
nous serions, 
vous seriez, 
ils seraient. 



Past. 



j'aurais 6t6, 
tu aurais 6te, 
il aurait 6t6, 
nous aurions 6t6, 
vous auriez 6t6, 
ils auraient 6te\ 



Subjunctive Mode 



je sois, 
tu sois, 
il soit, 
nous soyons, 
vous soyez, 
ils soient. 
je fusse, 
tu fusses, 
il fut, 

nous fussions, 
vous fussiez, 
ils fussent. 



Past. 



j'aie 6t6, 
tu aies 6t6 7 
il ait 6t6, 
nous ayons 6t6, 
vous ayez ete, 
ils aient 6t6. 
Pluperfect, j'eusse 6t6, 

tu eusses 6te, 
il eut 6te, 
nous eussions ete, 
vous eussiez 6te, 
ils eussent ete\ 



sois, 



Imperative Mode 
soyons, 



318 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



THE THREE REGULAR CONJUGATIONS 
I. II. III. 

Present Infinitive 
porter. finir. rendre. 



portant. 



Present Participle 
finissant. 



rendant. 



porte. 



Past Participle 
fini. 



rendu. 



je porte, 

tu portes, 
il porte, 
nous portons, 
vous portez, 
ils portent. 



Indicative Mode 

present 
je finis, 
tu finis, 
il finit, 

nous finissons, 
vous finissez, 
ils finissent. 



je rends, 
tu rends, 
il rend, 
nous rendons, 
vous rendez, 
ils rendent. 



je portais, 
tu portais, 
il portait, 
nous portions, 
vous portiez, 
ils portaient. 



imperfect 
je finissais, 
tu finissais, 
il finissait, 
nous finissions, 
vous finissiez, 
ils finissaient. 



je rendais, 
tu rendais, 
il rendait, 
nous rendions, 
vous rendiez, 
ils rendaient. 



je portai, 
tu portas, 
il porta, 
nous portames, 
vous portates, 
ils porterent. 



PAST DEFINITE 

je finis, 
tu finis, 
il finit, 
nous finimes, 
vous finites, 
ils finirent. 



je rendis, 
tu rendis, 
il rendit, 
nous rendimes, 
vous rendites, 
ils rendirent. 



THE THREE CONJUGATIONS 



319 



I. 


ii. 

FUTURE 


ill. 


je porterai, 


je finirai, 


je rendrai, 


tu porteras, 


tu finiras, 


tu rendras, 


il portera, 


il finira, 


il rendra, 


nous porterons, 


nous fiuirons, 


nous rendrons, 


vous porterez, 


vous finirez, 


vous rendrez, 


ils porteront. 


ils finiront. 

Conditional Mode 
present 


ils rendront. 


je porterais, 


je finirais, 


je rendrais, 


tu porterais, 


tu finirais, 


tu rendrais, 


il porterait, 


il finirait, 


il rendrait, 


nous porterions, 


nous finirions, 


nous rendrions, 


yous porteriez, 


vous finiriez, 


vous rendriez, 


ils porteraient. 


ils finiraient. 

Subjunctive Mode 
present 


ils rendraient. 


je porte, 


je finisse, 


je rende, 


tu portes, 


tu finisses, 


tu rendes, 


il porte, 


il finisse, 


il rende, 


nous portions, 


nous finissions, 


nous rendions, 


vous portiez, 


vous finissiez, 


vous rendiez, 


ils portent. 


ils finissent. 

IMPERFECT 


ils rendent. 


je portasse, 


je finisse, 


je rendisse, 


tu portasses, 


tu finisses, 


tu rendisses, 


il portat, 


il finit, 


il rendit, 


nous portassions, 


nous finissions, 


nous rendissions, 


vous portassiez, 


vous finissiez, 


vous rendissiez, 


ils portassent. 


ils finissent. 
Imperative Mode 


ils rendissent. 


porte, 


finis, 


rends, 


portons, 


finissons, 


rendons, 


portez. 


finissez. 


rendez. 



320 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



THE IRREGULAR VERBS 

The following is not a list of all the irregular 
verbs in French, but of the most important ones for 
See Lessons XLIX and LIT, Rule 6. 

Irregular Verbs 



a beginner. 



Present 
Infinitive. 
Aller, to go. 
j'irai 



Envoyer, to send. 
j'enverrai 



Verbs in -EH 



Present 
Participle. 
allant 
ils vont 
j'aille, 

-es, -e, -ent 

envoyant 
ils envoient 
j'envoie, 
-es, -e, -ent 



Past 

Part. 

alle 

Conju- 
gated 
with 
etre. 

envoye 



Present 
Indicative. 
je vais 
tu vas 
il va 
Imperative 

va (vas) 
j'envoie 



Past 
Definite. 
j'allai 



j'envoyai 



Acquerir, to acquire. 
j'acquerrai 



Assaillir, to assail. 

Bouillir, to boil. 

Courir, to ran. 
je courrai 

Couvrir, to cover. 

Cueillir, to gather. 
je cueillerai 

Dormir, to sleep. 

Mentir, to lie. 

Partir, to set out. 

Se repentir, to repent. 

Sentir, to feel. 

Servir, to serve. 

Fuir, to flee. 

Gesir, to lie. 
Future aud Condi- 
tional lacking. 



Verbs in -IE. 
acquerant acquis j'acquiers j 'acquis 



ils acquierent 
j'acquiere, 

-es, -e, -ent 
assaillant assailli 

bouillant bouilli 

courant couru 



couvrant 
cueillant 

dormant 

mentant 

partant 

se repentant 

sentant 

servant 

fuyant 

gisant 

Present Sub- 
junctive 
lacking. 



'assaille 
e bous 
je cours 



couvert 
cueilli 

dormi 

menti 

parti 

repenti 

senti 

servi 

fui 



couvre 
cueille 



je dors 

je mens 

e pars 

je me repens 
je sens 
je sers 
je fiiis 

il git 



j'assaillis 
je bouillis 
je courus 

je couvris 
je cueillis 

je dormis 
je mentis 
je partis 
je me repenti s 
je sentis 
je servis 
je fuis 



THE IRREGULAR VERBS 



321 



Present 


Present 


Past 


Present 


Past 


Infinitive. 


Participle. 


Part. 


Indicative. 


Definite. 


Hair, to hate. 


haissant 


hai 


je hais 


je hais 


Mourir, to die. 


mourant 


mort 


je nieurs 


je mourus 


je mourrai 


ils meurent 
je meure, 
-es, -e, -eut 


etre 






Tenir, to hold. 


tenant 


tenu 


je tiens 


je tins 


je tiendrai 


ils tiennent 
je tienne, 
-es, -e, -ent 








Venir, to come. 


venant 


yenu 


je viens 


je vins 


je "viendrai. 


ils viennent 
je vienne, 
-es, -e, -ent 


etre 







Battre, to heat. 



Boire, to drink. 



Conclure, to conclude. 
Conduire, to conduct, 

lead. 
Connaitre, to know. 
Coudre, to sew. 
Craindre, to fear. 
Croire, to believe. 
Croitre, to grow. 
Dire, to say, to tell. 

ficrire, to write. 
Faire, to do, to make. 
je ferai 



Lire, to read. 
Luire, to shine. 
Mettre, to put. 
Naitre, to be bom, arise 



battant 



Verbs in -RE 
battu 



bu 



buvant 
ils boivent 
je boive, 

-es, -e, -ent 
concluant conclu 

conduisant conduit 



connaissant 
cousant 
craignant 
croyant 
croissant 
disant 
vous dites 
ecrivant 
faisant 
vous faites 
ils font 

je fasse, -es, -e 
-ions, -iez, -ent 
lisant 
luisant 
mettant 
naissant 



connu 

cousu 

craint 

cru 

era 

dit 

ecrit 
fait 



lu 

lui 

mis 

ne 

etre 



je bats 
tu bats 
il bat 
je bois 



je conclus 
e conduis 

je connais 
e couds 
e crains 
e crois 

je crois 

je dis 

ecris 
je fais 



jelis 
je luis 
je mets 
je nais 



je battis 



je bus 



je conclus 
je conduisis 

je connus 
je cousis 
je craignis 
je crus 
je crus 
je dis 

j'ecrivis 
jefis 



je lus 

je mis 
je naquis 



322 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



Present 


Present 


Past 


Present 


Past 


Infinitive. 


Participle. 


Part. 


Indicative. 


Definite. 


Nuire, to injure. 


nuisant 


nui 


je nuis 


je nuisis 


Plaire, to please. 


plaisant 


plu 


je plais 
il plait 


je plus 


Prendre, to take. 


prenant 
ils prennent 
je prenne, 
-es, -e, -ent 


pris 


je prends 


je pris 


Resoudre, to resolve. 


resolvant 


resolu 


je resous 


je resolus 


je resoudrai 




or resous 




The second form of the participle 


s has no feminine. 


Eire, to laugh. 


riant 


ri 


je ris 


je ris 


Suffire, to suffice. 


suffisant 


sum 


je suffis 


je sums 


Suivre, to follow. 


suivant 


suivi 


je suis 


je suivis 


Taire, to keep still 


taisant 


tu 


je tais 


je tus 


about. 










Vaincre, to conquer. 


vainquant 


vaincu 


je vaincs 
il vainc 


je vainquis 


Vivre, to live. 


vivant 


vecu 


je vis 


je vecus 



Verbs in -OIK. 



Asseoir, to seat. 


asseyant 


assis 


j'assieds 


j'assierai ) 


or 




or 


j'asseyerai >■ 


assoyant 




j'assois 


j'assoirai ) 
Devoir, to owe. 
je devrai 


devant 
ils doivent 
je doive, 


du je dois 
Fern, due 




-es, -e, -ent 






Falloir, to be necessary, 
il faudra 


il fallait 
il faille 


fallu 


il faut 


Mouvoir, to move. 
je mouvrai 


mouvant 
ils meuvent 


mu je meus 
Fern, mue 




je meuve, 






Pleuvoir, to rain. 


-es, -e, -ent 
pleuvant 


plu 


il pleut 


il pleuvra 
Pourvoir, to provide. 
Pouvoir, to be able. 

je pourrai 


pourvoyant 
pouvant 
ils peuvent 


pourvu 
pu 


je pourvoi 
je peux 
or je puis 


Pre>oir, to foresee. 


je puisse, -es, -e 
-ions, -iez, -ent 
prevoyant prevu 


tu peux 
il peut 
je prevois 



j'assis 



je dus 



il fallut 



je mus 



il plut 



jepus 



je pre vis 



THE IRREGULAR VERBS 



323 



Present 


Present 


Past 


Present 


Past 


Infinitive. 


Participle. 


Part. 


Indicative. 


Definite. 


Recevoir, to receive. 


recevant 


recu 


je recois 


je reQus 


je recevrai 


ils recoivent 
je recoive, 
-es, -e, -ent 








Savoir, to know. 


sachant 


su 


je sais 


je sus 


je saurai 


ils savent 
je savais, etc. 
je sache, etc. 








Valoir, to be worth. 


valant 


valu 


je vaux 


je valus 


je vaudrai 


je vaille, 
-es, -e, -ent 








Voir, to see. 


voyant 


vu 


je vois 


je vis 


je verrai 










Vouloir, to will. 


voulant 


youlu 


je veux 


je voulus 


je voudrai 


ils veulent 
je veuille, 
-es, -e, -ent 




Imperative 
veuillez 





VOCABTJLAKIES 



The student is advised to have recourse to the vocahularies only as a last 
resort. If a word has been used in the examples, or is found in the special 
vocabulary and notes belonging to the same lesson, or if its meaning, gender, 
etc., are obvious from the context, it is not inserted in these general vocabularies. 

Numerals, the names of days and months, are not inserted, nor are the com- 
mon pronouns and demonstrative and interrogative adjectives. These are fully 
explained in the Lessons. 

Words are given only with the meanings that occur in this book. 

Numbers refer to pages. 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



a, to, at, in. 

abord (d'), at first. 

accueillir (irr. v.), receive, wel- 
come. 

acheter, buy. 

achever, complete, finish. 

agir, act. 

aimer, love, like. 

ainsi, thus. 

air (avoir 1'), to look like; en plein 
air, in the open air. 

aise\ easy. 

Allemag-ne, /. Germany. 

allemand, German. 

aller (irr. v. etre), go. 

alors, then. 

amener, lead. 

amer (r sounded), amere, bitter. 

ami, amie, friend. 

an, m. year. 

annee, /. year. 

appeler, call. 

appointements, m. salary. 



apporter, bring. 

apprendre (irr. v.), learn. 

apres, prep, after. — adv. afterward. 

apres-midi, m. or/, afternoon. 

arbre, m. tree. 

argent, m. silver ; money. 

arreter, stop. 

arriver (etre), arrive; happen. 

assez, enough ; rather, quite. 

attendre [63 J, wait for, wait. 

aucun (adj.), any. 

aujourd'hui, to-day. 

aussi, also. 

aussitot, immediately. 

aussitot que, as soon as, 

autant, as many, as much. 

autour de, around. 

autre, other. 

autrefois, formerly. 

Autriche, /. Austria. 

avant, before. 

avec, with. 

avis, m. opinion. 

avouer, confess, admit. 

325 



326 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



B 

bague, /. ring, finger-ring. 

balle,/. bullet. 

bas, adv. low, low down. — to. bot- 
tom. 

bas, basse, adj. low. 

bateau, to. boat. 

battre (irr. v.), beat. 

beau, bel, belle, fine, beautiful, hand- 
some. 

beaucoup, much, many, greatly. 

besoin, to. need. 

beurre, to. butter. 

bibliotheque, /. library. 

bien, well, very, many, much. 

bientot, soon. 

billet, to. note, ticket. 

blesser, wound. 

boeuf, m. ox. 

bois, to. wood. 

boite, /. box. 

bon, bonne, good. 

bonheur, to. happiness. 

bord, to. shore. 

boucher, butcher. 

boulang-er, baker. 

bras, to. arm. 

brave [237], good, brave. 

briller, shine. 

bruit, to. noise ; rumor. 



cadeau, to. present. 

cafe, to. coffee. 

cahier, to. copy-book. 

campag-ne, /. country [42]. 

car, conj. for. 

cas, to. case. 

casser, break. 

cause de (a), on account of. 

ceder, yield ; give over, cede. 

cela, that. 

celle, celui, Lesson XVII. 

cent, one hundred. 

cerise, /. cherry. 

cesse (sans), unceasingly, constantly. 



chacun, each, each one. 

chagrin, to. grief, sorrow. 

chaise, /. chair. 

chambre, /. room. 

chant, to. singing. 

chanter, sing. 

chapeau, to. hat. 

chaque, each, every. 

chaud, adj. warm, hot. — to. heat, 
warmth. 

chef, to. chief. 

chemin, to. way. 

cheminee, /. chimney, mantelpiece. 

cher, chere, dear. 

chercher, look for, seek. 

oheval, m. horse. 

cheveu, m. hair. 

chez, prep. See p. 133. 

chien, to. dog. 

choisir, choose. 

chose, /. thing. 

chute,/, fall. 

ciel, m. heaven, sky. 

cle or clef, /. key. 

coeur, to. heart. 

coin, to. corner. 

collier, to. necklace. 

combien, how many, how much. 

comme, like, as. 

comme ga, that way, like that. 

comment, how. 

comprendre (irr. v.), understand. 

compter (p silent), count ; intend. 

connaissance, /. knowledge; acquaint- 
ance. 

connaitre (irr. v.), know [70]. 

conseil, to. advice. 

conserver, keep. 

content, glad, happy. 

contre, against. 

convenir (irr. v.), suit, be suited. 

coudre (irr. i?.), sew. 

courir (irr. v.), run. 

couteau, to. knife. 

couter, cost. 

craie, /. chalk. 

craindre (irr. v.), fear. 



VOCABULARY 



327 



croire (irr. v.), believe, think. 
croix, /. cross. 
cru, raw. 



dame, lady. 

dans, in. 

de, of; from. 

deesse, goddess. 

defaut, to. fault, defect. 

deja, already. 

dejeuner, to. breakfast. 

dejeuner, v. breakfast. 

demain, to-morrow. 

demi, adj. half [233]. 

depuis, prep, since, for. 

deranger, disturb. 

dernier, derniere, last. 

desormais, henceforth. 

des que, as soon as. 

detruire (irr. v.), destroy. 

devant, before, in front of, in the face of. 

devenir (irr. v.), become. 

devoir, n. duty. — (irr. v.), owe, ought, 

must. 
dire (irr. v.), say, tell. 
dinger, direct. 

disparaitre (irr. v.), disappear. 
doigt (g silent), to. finger. 
done, therefore, so. 
donner, give ; face. 
dormir (irr. v.), sleep. 
dos, to. back. 

droit, adj. right. — to. right ; law. 
dur, bard. 
durer, last. 

E 
eau, /. water. 
ecouter, listen to. 
ecrire (irr. v.), write. 
egal, equal. 
eleve, pupil. 
elire (irr. v.), elect. 
empecher, hinder, prevent. 
emporter, carry off. 
en, prep, in.— prow. [123, 172]. 
22 



enchanter, delight. 

encore, again ; yet. 

encre, /. ink. 

endroit, m. place, spot. 

enfant, child. 

enfin, at last. 

ensemble, together. 

ensuite, afterward, next. 

entendre, hear. 

entourer, surround. 

entre, between, among. 

entrer (etre), come in, go in, enter. 

envers, toward. 

envoyer (irr. v.), send. 

epoque, /. time. 

escalier, m. stairs, staircase. 

esperer, hope. 

essayer, try. 

et, and. 

etage, to. story, floor. ] 

ete, to. summer. 

etendre, stretch out. 

etoile, /. star. 

etonner, astonish. 

etonner (s'X wonder. 

etude, /. study. 

etudier, study. 

eviter, avoid. 

exercer, exert. 



facile, easy. 

faim, /. hunger. 

faire (irr. v.), make, do. 

fait, to. fact. 

falloir (irr. v. impersonal), expressed 

by must. 
faux, adv. out of tune. 
fenetre,/. window. 
fer, to. iron, 
fermer, close, shut. 
feu, to. fire. 
feuille, /. leaf. 
fille, /. daughter, girl. 
fils (I silent, s pronounced), son. 
fleur, /. flower. 
fois, /. time. 



328 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



fort, adj. strong. — adv. very. 

fou, fol, folle, crazy, mad. 

foule, /. crowd. 

frere, brother. 

froid, cold. 

fusil (I silent), m. gun. 



gagner, earn ; win. 

gai, cheerful, merry. 

gar<;on, boy. 

garder, keep. 

gare, /. railway-station. 

gater, spoil. 

gens, people. 

gout, m. taste. 

grand, tall, large, great. 

gros, grosse, big. 

guere, hardly, not much. 

guerir, cure ; get well. 

guerre, /. war. 



habiter, inhabit, live in. 
hardi (aspirate h), bold. 
haut (asp. h), high. 
herbe,/. grass. 
heure, /. hour ; o'clock. 
heure (de bonne), early. 
beureux, happy, 
bier, yesterday. 
histoire, /. story, history. 
hiver (r sounded), m. winter, 
homme, man. 



ici, here, hither. 

importer, import. 

importe (n'), no matter, never mind. 



jamais, ever; {with neg.) never, 
jardin, m. garden. 
jardinier, gardener. 
jaune, yellow. 
jeune, young. 
joie, /. joy. 



joli, pretty. 
jouer, play. 
jour, m. day. 
journal, m. newspaper. 
journee, /. day. 
jusqu'a, until ; as far as. 
j usque, up to. 
juste, adv. right, in tune. 



la, there. 

la-bas, down there, yonder, over 

there. 
laisser, leave, let. 
lait, m. milk. 
langue, /. language. 
leger, legere, light, slight, 
lent, slow. 
leve, risen, up. 
lire (irr. v.) read. 
lit, m. bed. 
livre, m. book. 
loin, far. 

longtemps, adv. long, a long while. 
lorsque, when. 
louer, praise. 
lune,/. moon. 



magnifique, magnificent. 

main,/, hand. 

maintenant, now. 

mais, but. 

mais non, why no. 

mais on,/, house. 

maitre, master ; teacher. 

mal, adv. badly. 

mal, maux, n. evil, hurt, ache. 

malade, ill, sick. 

malheur, m. misfortune. 

malheureux, unhappy, unfortunate. 

manger, eat. 

manquer, miss ; be lacking. 

marchand, merchant, dealer. 

mari, husband. 

matin, m. morning. 

mauvais, bad. 



VOCABULARY 



329 



maux, pi. o/mal. 

medecin, physician. 

meilleur, meilleure, adj. better, best. 

meme, adv. even. — adj. same. 

menteur, liar. 

mentir (irr. v.), lie. 

mer, /. sea. 

merci, thanks. 

mere, mother. 

metier, m. trade, handicraft. 

mettre (irr. v.), put. 

midi, m. noon ; south. 

mieux, adv. better, best. 

moindre, adj. less, least. 

moine, monk. 

moins, adv. less, least; au moins, at 

least. 
mois, m. month. 
moitie, /. half. 
monde, m. world ; tout le monde, 

everybody. 
monter (etre), go up. 
monsieur, pi. messieurs, gentleman, 

Sir, Mr. 
montrer, show. 
morceau, m. bit, piece. 
mort, /. death. 
mot, m. word. 
mourir (irr. v.), die. 
moyen, m. means, 
mur, ripe. 

N 
naquit (past. def. of naitre). 
neige, /. snow. 
ni . . . ni, neither . . . nor. 
noir, black, dark, 
nom, m. name ; noun. 
non plus, either. 
nord, m. north. 

nouveau, nouvel, nouvelle, new. 
nouvelle, /. news, 
nuit, /. night. 



ceil, pi. yeux, eye. 
oiseau, m. bird. 



on, pronoun. See Lesson XXX. 

or, m. gold. 

ordinaire (d'), usually. 

oser, dare. 

ou, or. 

oil, where. 

oublier, forget. 

ouvert, open. 

ouvrir (irr. v.), open. 



pain, m. bread. 

par, through, by. 

paraitre, appear. 

parce que, because. 

pareil, pareille, such, like, similar. 

paresse, /. laziness. 

paresseux, lazy. 

parler, speak. 

parole, /. word. 

partir (irr. v. etre), go away; start. 

pauvre, poor. 

pays, m. country. 

peau, /. skin ; hide. 

peine (a), scarcely. 

pendant, prep, during ; for. 

pendant que, conj. while. 

penible, painful. 

penser, think [ITS]. 

perdre, lose. 

pere, father. 

personne, any one, nobody [102]. 

petit, small, little. 

peu, few ; un peu, a little. 

peur, /. fear. 

phrase, /. sentence. 

piece, /. coin ; room ; play. 

pied, m. foot. 

place, /. place ; space ; room ; public 

square. 
plaisir, m. pleasure. 
plein, full ; en plein air, in the open 

air ; en pleine mer, out at sea. 
pluie,/. rain. 
plume, /. pen. 
plupart, /. most, majority. 
plus, more. 



330 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



plusieurs, several. 

poirier, m. pear-tree. 

poisson, m. fish. 

pommier, m. apple-tree. 

porte, /. door ; gate. 

porter, carry, bear, wear. 

pour, for; in order to. 

pourquoi, why, what for. 

pourtant. however. 

pousser, push, impel; grow. 

pouvoir {irr. v.), can, be able. — m. 

power, 
premier, premiere, first. 
prendre [irr. r.), take, 
pres de, near, 
pre s que, almost, 
pret (a), ready. 
preter, lend, 
pre voir (irr. v.), foresee. 
prier, pray, beg, entreat. 
prochain, next. 
promener (se), take a walk, 
puis, then, next, 
puisque, conj. since (cause). 
puissance, /. power. 

Q 

quand, when. 

que, conj. that ; than, as. 

que, rel. pron. ace. whom, which, 

that. 
que, interr. pron. what ? 
que de, how many [105]. 
quel, quelle, adj. what, which, 
quelque, some, 
quelquefois. sometimes. 
quelques, a few. 
quelqu'un, some one. 
qui. rel. pron. nom. who, which, that. 
qui, interr. pron. who? 
quitter, leave. 
quoique, although, though. 



raison. /. reason, right, 
ramasser, pick up, gather. 
recevoir (irr. v.), receive. 



reconnaitre (irr. v.), recognize. 

reflechir, reflect. 

regarder, look at. 

remplir, fill. 

rencontrer, meet. 

rendre, give back, pay back ; render ; 

translate, 
rentrer (etre), return home, come in 

again. 
repartir (etre), start off again. 
repas, m. meal. 
repondre (a), reply [63]. 
rester (etre), remain, stay. 
retour (de), back, 
retourner, go back. 
retrouver, find. 
reussir (a), succeed. 
reve, m. dream. 
reveiller, wake. 
revenir (irr. v. ), to come back. 
rien, anything, nothing [102], 
roi, king. 
roman, m. novel. 
rompre, break. 
rougir, blush. 

S 

sage, wise ; good. 

salle, /. hall, room. 

salle-a-manger, dining-room. 

sans, without. 

sante, /. health. 

sauver, save. 

savoir (irr. v.), know [70]. 

science, /. knowledge, science. 

selon, according to. 

semaine,/. week. 

seul, alone, only, mere. 

seulement, only, merely. 

si, conj. if; whether. — adv. so ; yes^ 

Lesson XXXII. 
soeur, sister. 
soie,/. silk, 
soir, m. evening, 
soiree, /. evening. 
soit . . . soit, either ... or. 
soldat, soldier. 



VOCABULARY 



331 



soleil, m. sun. 

sort, m. fate, lot. 

sorte (de la), in that way. 

sorte que (de), so that. 

sortir (irr. t\, etre), go out. 

sot, m. fool. 

sourd, deaf. 

sourd-muet, deaf-mute. 

sous, under. 

souvent, often. 

suffire (irr. ■».), suffice. 

Suisse,/. Switzerland. 

suivre (irr. v.), follow. 

sur, on, upon ; out of. 

stir, sure. 

surprendre (irr. v.), surprise. 



tableau, m. picture, painting. 

tacher (de), try, endeavor. 

tant, so many, so much. 

tant que, as long as. 

tante, aunt. 

tel, telle, such [153]. 

temps, time ; weather. 

terre, /. earth ; land. 

tete, /. head. 

tomber (etre), fall. 

tort, m. wrong. 

tot, soon. 

toujours, always. 

tout, adj. all ; any [114, 223].— pron. 

everything, all. 
traduire (irr. v.), translate. 
trahison, /. betrayal, treason. 
travail, m. pi. travaux, work. 
travailler, work. 



traverser, cross. 

tres, very. 

triste, sad. 

tromper, deceive. 

trop, too, too many, too much. 

trouver, find ; consider. 

tuer, kill. 



U 



utile, useful. 



vaincre (irr. v.), conquer. 

valoir (irr. v.), be worth. 

vaurien, m. good-for-nothing. 

vendre, sell. 

venir (irr. v.), come. 

verre, m. glass. 

vers, m. verse. — prep, toward. 

viande,/. meat. 

vie, /. life. 

ville, /. (I normal) city. 

vin, m. wine. 

vite, quickly. 

vivre (irr. v.), live. 

voila, behold, there is [151]. 

voir (irr. v.), see. 

voiture, /. carriage. 

voix, /. voice. 

vouloir (irr. v.), will, wish. 

vrai, true. 

vraiment, truly, really. 



y. See p. ISO. 
yeux, m. pi. eyes. 



ENGLISH-FRENCH 



abandon, abandonner. 

about, autour de ; (concerning) de. 

absence, , /. 

absent, . 



accept, accepter. 
accompany, accompag'ner. 
according to, selon. 
accuse, accuser. 
act, agir. 



332 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



admirably, admirablement. 

admiral, amiral. 

admire, admirer. 

admit, admettre (irr. v.). 

adversary, adversaire, m. 

advice, conseil, m. 

affair, affaire, /. 

afraid (to be), avoir peur. 

after, apres. 

afternoon, apres-midi (m. or/.). 

again, encore, encore une fois ; also 

expressed by prefix re-. 
against, contre. 
agitate, agiter. 
ago. See 46. 

agree, s'accorder ; convenir (irr. v.). 
agreeable, agreable. 
air, , m. ; in the open air, en plein 

air. 
alight, descendre. 
all, tout [114, 223] ; not at all, pas du 

tout. 
allow, permettre (irr. v.). 
alone, seul. 
Alps, les Alpes, /. 
already, deja. 
also, aussi. 
always, toujours. 
amiable, aimable. 
among, entre, parmi. 
amusing, adj. amusant. 
and, et. 

animal, animal, pi. animaux. 
another, un autre, une autre, 
answer, n. reponse, /. 
answer, v. repondre (a) [63]. 
anxious, inquiet, inquiete. 
any [see 60, 99], tout. 
anybody, quelqu'un ; personne. 
any more, plus. 

any one, quelqu'un ; personne. 
anything, quelque chose ; rien. 
anything else, autre chose. 
apartment, appartement, m. 
appear, paraitre (irr. v.). 
apple, pomme. /. 
apple-tree, pommier, m. 



approach, s'approcher (de). 

argument, , m. 

arithmetic, arithmetique, /. 

arm, bras, m. 

army, armee, /. 

around, autour de. 

arrive, arriver (etre). 

article, , m. 

as, comme ; aussi . . . que. 

as long as, tant que. 

as soon as, aussitot que, des que. 

ascend, monter (etre). 

ask, demander [156]. 

ask a question, faire une question. 

astonish, etonner. 

at, a, chez. 

attend, assister (a). 

attention, , /. 

aunt, tante. 

Austria, Autriche, /. 

author, auteur, m. 

away (usually not expressed by a sep- 
arate word) ; go away, partir, s'en 
aller; take away, emporter, en- 
lever. 

B 

back (usually not expressed by a sep- 
arate word) ; be back, etre de re- 
tour ; get back, rentrer, etre de 
retour ; give back, rendre ; pay 
back, rendre. 

badly, mal. 

baker, boulanger. 

bashful, timide. 

battle, bataille, /. ; combat m. 

be, etre (irr. v.) ; aller, se porter. 

bear, porter. 

beat, battre. 

beautiful, beau, bel, belle. 

because, parce que. 

because of, a cause de. 

become, devenir (irr. v.). 

bed, lit, m. ; go to bed, se coucher. 

before, prep, avant (priority) ; devant 
(in front of). 

before, conj. avant que. 



VOCABULARY 



333 



beg, prier. 

begin, commencer. 

beginning, commencement, m. 

behavior, conduite,/. 

behind, derriere. 

believe, croire (irr. v.). 

belong, appartenir (irr. v.). 

beside, pres de, a cote de. 

best, adj. le meilleur, la meilleure. 

better, adj. meilleur, meilleure.— adv. 
mieux ; it is better, il vaut mieux. 

betrayal, trahison, /. 

between, entre. 

big, gros, grosse. 

bird, oiseau, m. 

bitterly, amerement. 

black, noir. 

blame, blamer, 

blue, bleu ; pi. bleus. 

boat, bateau. 

boat-riding, les promenades en ba- 
teau. 

book, livre, m. 

bookseller, libraire, m. 

borrow, emprunter. 

botany, botanique, /. 

botb, les deux. 

bouquet, , m. 

box, boite, /. 

boy, garqon. 

bread, pain, m. 

break, rompre, casser. 

breakfast, dejeuner, m. 

bring, amener ; apporter [196]. 

broom, balai, m. 

brother, frere. 

build, batir. 

burn, bruler. 

busy, occupe. 

but, mais ; ne . . . que. 

butter, beurre, m. 

buy, acheter. 

by, par ; en. 

C 

call, appeler. 

call for, aller chercher, venir cher- 
cher. 



can, pouvoir (irr. v.). 
can it be ? se peut-il ? 

Canada, , m. 

capital, capitale, /. 

captain, capitaine, m. 

care, soin, m. ; to take care, avoir 

soin. 
careful, prudent. 
carriage, voiture, /. 
carry, porter. 
castle, chateau. 
cat, chat, m. 

catch, prendre (irr. v.) ; attraper. 
cause, cause, /. 
celebrated, celebre. 
center, milieu, m. ; centre, m. 
ceremony, ceremonie, /. 

certain, . 

chair, chaise, /. 

chalk, craie, /. 

change, changer. 

Channel, the English, la Manche. 

cherry, cerise, /. 

cherry-tree, cerisier, m. 

cheap, a bon marche, 

chickens, les poules ; (hens) les pou- 

lets. 
child, enfant. 
chimney, cheminee,/. 
China, Chine, /. 
chocolate, chocolat, m. 
choose, choisir. 
church, eglise,/. 
cigar, cigare, m. 
citizen, citoyen, m. 
city, ville, /. 
class, classe,/. 
close, fermer. 
coffee, cafe, m. 

colonel, , m. 

color, couleur, /. 

come, venir (irr. v. etre). 

come back, revenir. 

come down, descendre. 

come home, rentrer. 

come in, entrer. 

come near, s'approcher ; faillir. 



334 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



company, compagnie, /. ; keep com- 
pany, tenir compagnie. 

complete, adj. complet, complete ; v. 
achever. 

compliment, , m. 

composition, , /. 

concert, , m. 

conduct, conduite, /. 

confer, conferer. 

confess, confesser, avouer. 

confidence, confiance, /. 

Conqueror, Conquerant. 

consent, consentement, m. 

consider, considerer. 

constantly, constamment, sans cesse. 

consult, consulter. 

continent, , m. 

continue, continuer. 

convince, convaincre (irr. v.). 

copy, copier. 

copy-book, cahier, m. 

cost, couter. 

country, campagne,/. ; pays, m. [42] . 

courage, , m. 

course, cours, m. 

cousin, , m. ; cousine, /. 

cover, couvrir (irr. v.). 

crime, — -, m. 

cross, n. croix, /. 

cross, v. traverser, passer. 

crowd, foule, /. 

cure, guerir. 

cut, couper. 



dance, danser. 
dangerous, dangereux. 
dare, oser. 
dark, brun. 

date, , /. 

daughter, fille, /. (II mouillees). 

day, jour, m. 

dead, mort. 

deaf, sourd. 

deal (a good), beaucoup. 

dear, cber, chere. 

deceive, tromper. 



declare, declarer. 

deep, profond. 

deeply, vivement, profondement. 

delight, enchanter. 

deny, nier. 

desire, desirer. 

destroy, detruire (irr. v.). 

detain, retenir (irr. v.). 

dictionary, dictionnaire, m. 

die, mourir (irr. v. etre). 

difference, difference, /. 

difficult, difficile. 

difficulty, difficulte, /. 

dine, diner. 

dining-room, salle-a-manger, /. 

dinner, diner, m. 

directly, directement. 

disappointment, desappointement, m. 

deception, /. 
discourage, decourager. 
discover, decouvrir (irr. v.). 
discuss, discuter. 
dislike, expressed by deplaire (a) 

(irr. v.). 
dispatch, depfeche, /. 
disperse, disperser ; se disperser. 
displease, deplaire (a) (irr. v.). 

distance, , /. 

distinguish, distinguer. 

distribute, distribuer. 

disturb, deranger. 

do, faire (irr. v.); (suffice) suffire 

(irr. v.) 
doctor, medecin. 
dog, chien. 
door, porte, /. 
down (come), 



down (go), 



descendre (§tre). 



dozen, douzaine, /. 

draft, courant d'air, m. 

draw near, 1 , 

' I approcher. 

draw up, J 

drawer, tiroir, m. 

dress, robe,/. — v. habiller, s'habiller. 

dressmaker, couturiere, /. 

duet, duo, m. 

dull, to have a dull time, s'ennuyer. 



VOCABULARY 



335 



during, pendant. 
dust, poussiere,/. 

E 

each, adj. chaque.— pron. chacun, cha- 

cune. 
each other, l'un 1' autre [230]. 
eagle, aigle, m. 
earlier, de meilleure heure. 
early, de bonne heure. 
earn, gagner. 
earth, terre, /. 
easy, facile. 
eat, manger, 
egg, oauf, m. [§45, 3]. 
either, non plus [107]. 
elect, elire (irr. v.). 
elephant, elephant, m. 
else, anything else, autre chose. 
emperor, empereur, m. 
empty, vide. 
encourage, encourager. 
end, fin, /. ; bout, m, 
ending, terminaison, /. 
enemy, ennemi, m. 
energy, energie, /. 
England, Angleterre, /. 
enjoy, jouir (de). 
enlarge, etendre. 
enough, assez. 
enter, entrer (etre). 
entire, entier, entiere. 
errand, commission, /. 
equal, egal ; pi. egaux. 
escape, echapper, se sauver. 
especially, precisement. 
establish, etablir. 
esteem, estime. 

Europe, , /. 

European, europeen, europeenne. 
even (numbers), pair. 
evening, soir, m. ; soiree, /. 
every, chaque [114]. 
every other, tous les deux. 
everything, tout. 
examination, examen, m. 
except, excepte. 



excuse, excuser. 

exercise, exercice, m. 

expect, attendre, s'attendre (a). 

explain, expliquer. 

explanation, explication, /. 

express, expres, m. 

expression, , /. 

eye, oeil, m. ; pi. yeux. 

F 

fact, fait, m. 

factory, fabrique, /. 

fall, n. chute, /. 

fall, v. tomber (etre). 

family, famille,/. {II mouillees). 

famous, fameux. 

fast, vite. 

father, pere. 

fault, faute,/. 

fear, craindre {irr. v.). 

feed, donner a manger a. 

feci, sentir (irr. v.) ; to have feeling, 

etre sensible. 
feminine, feminin. 
few, peu de ; a few, quelques, quel- 

ques-uns. 
fewer, moins de. 
find, trouver. 
fine, beau, bel, belle. 
finger, doigt, m. (g silent). 
finger-nail, ongle, m. 
finish, finir. 
fire, feu, m. 

first, premier, premiere. 
fish, poisson, m. 

flattering, adj. flatteur, flatteuse. 
fleet, flotte, /. 
flower, fleur, /. 
fluently, couramment. 
fond, to be fond of, aimer. 
foot, pied, m. ; on foot, a pied. 
footman, laquais, m. 
for, prep, pour [65, 143, 198). 
foreigner, etranger. 
forget, oublier. 
forgive, pardonner [166]. 
forgiveness, pardon, m. 



336 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



fork, fourchette, /. 
fountain, fontaine, /. 

franc, , m. 

France, , /. 

frank, franc, franche. 
free, libre. 
French, frangais. 
friend, ami, amie. 
friendship, amitie, /. 
from, de. 

fruit, , m. 

future, n. avenir, m.—adj. futur. 

G 

garden, jar din, to. 

gardener, jardinier, to. 

gather, ramasser ; cueillir ; se reu- 
nir. 

general, general. 

generous, genereux. 

gentleman, monsieur (n and r silent). 

gentlemen, messieurs. 

George, Georges. 

German, allemand. 

get, recevoir ; arriver ; get back, ren- 
trer, etre de retour ; get into, mon- 
ter dans ; get out, sortir ; get to, 
arriver a ; get up, se lever ; get 
well, guerir. 

girl, fille (11 mouillees). 

give, donner ; give back, rendre. 

glad, content, bien aise. 

glass, verre, m. 

glasses, lunettes, /. pi. 

go, aller (etre) (irr. v.); go away, 
partir (irr. v.); s'en aller (irr. v.); 
go back, retourner ; go down, des- 
cendre ; go on, continuer ; go out, 
sortir. 

gold, or, m. 

good, adj. bon, bonne. — n. bien, to. 

grandfather, grand-pere. 

grass, herbe, /. 

gravitation, gravite, /. 

great, grand. 

greatly, beaucoup, bien. 

Greek, grec, grecque. 



green, vert. 

gunpowder, poudre a canon, /. 



hair, cheveu, to. [78]. 

half, moitie, /. 

half a dozen, une demi-douzaine. 

half an hour, une demi-beure. 

band, main,/. 

handkerchief, mouchoir, to. 

handsome, beau, bel, belle. 

happiness, bonheur, to. 

happy, heureux. 

hard, dur ; difficile. 

hardly, a peine. 

hat, chapeau, to. 

have, avoir (irr. v.). 

hay, foin, m. 

head, tete, /. 

health, sante, /. 

hear, entendre. 

heaven, ciel ; m. pi. cieux. 

heavy, lourd. 

help, aider. 

here, ici. 

hesitate, hesiter (a). 

hide, cacber. 

hide, peau, /. 

high, haut (asp. h). 

history, histoire, /. 

hold, tenir (irr. v.). 

home (at), see 133. 

home (come), rentrer (etre). 

honor, n. bonneur, m. 

honor, v. bonorer. 

hope, esperer. 

horse, cheval. 

hospital, bdpital. 

hot, chaud. 

hour, heure, /. 

house, maison. 

how, comment; how long, combien 

de temps ; Iioav many, how much, 

combien 1 que de ! 
humming-bird, oiseau-moucbe, m. 
hunger, faim, /. 
husband, mari. 



VOCABULARY 



337 



idea, idee, /. 

if, si. 

ill, adj. malade. — n. mal ; pi. maux. 

illness, maladie, /. 

impatient, (a). 

importance, , /. 

in, dans, en, a [47, 139]. 

influence, , /. 

inhabitant, habitant, ra. 

instant, , m. ; on the instant, 3 

l'instant. 
instead of, au lieu de. 
intend, compter, avoir 1' intention de 

intention, , /. 

interest, n. interfit, m. 

, v. s'interesser (a). 

interesting, adj. interessant. 

interrupt, interrompre. 

into, dans. 

invent, inventer. 

invite, inviter. 

Italian, italien, italienne. 

Italy, Italie, /. 



jewel, bijou ; ra. pi. bijoux. 

John, Jean. 

journey, voyage, m. 

judge, juge. 

just as, tel que [153]. 

just now, tout a Theure. 



keep, garder, tenir (irr. v.). 

key, cle* or clef, /. 

kilometer, kilometre, m. 

kill, tuer. 

kind, bon, bonne. 

kindness, bonte. 

king, roi. 

kingdom (Nat. Hist.), regne, m. 

knee, genou, ra. 

knife, couteau, ra. 

know, connaitre (irr. v.) ; savoir (irr. 

v.) [70]. 
knowledge, connaissances,/. pi. 



lace, dentelle, /. 

lady, dame. 

lake, lac, ra. 

land, terre, /. ; pays, m. 

language, langue, /.; langage, ra. [90]. 

large, grand. 

last, adj. dernier, derniere. — v. durer. 

late, tard, en retard [20] . 

Latin, latin, ra. 

law, loi, /. ; droit, m. 

lawyer, avocat, m. 

lazy, paresseux. 

leaf, feuille,/. (II mouillees). 

learn, apprendre (irr. v.). 

least (at), au moins. 

leave, trans, laisser ; intrans. partir 

(irr. v.). 
lecture, conference, /. 
left, adj. gauche ; I have left, il me 

reste. 
lend, preter. 
less, moins [94]. 
lesson, leqon, /. 
let, laisser. 
letter, lettre, /. 
library, bibliotheque. 
lie, mentir (irr. v.). 
lief, expressed by aimer autant. 
life, vie, /. 
lift, lever, soulever. 
light (hair), blond. 

, n. lumiere, /. 

like, aimer; look like, avoir l'air (de) ; 
ressembler a— adj. pareil, pareille 
(a) ; semblable (a) ; comme. 
likely, probable : expressed by devoir. 
lily, lis, m. (s sounded). 

lion, , m. 

list, liste, /. 

listen, ecouter [98]. 

literature, litterature, /. 

little, adj. petit — adv. peu ; a little, un 

peu. 
live, demeurer, habiter ; vivre (irr. v.). 
living, n. vie, /. 
London, Londres. 



338 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



long, adj. long-, longue.— adv. long- 
temps ; as long as, tant que ; how 
long, depuis ; combien de temps, 
combien y a-t-il que ; no longer, ne 
. . . plus. 

look at, regarder [98]. 

look for, chercher [98]. 

look like, ressembler (a) ; avoir l'air 
(de). 

lose, perdre. 

loud, haut {asp. h.). 

Louvre, , m. 

love, aimer. 

low, adj. bas, basse ; in a low voice, a 
voix basse, a demi-voix — adv. bas. 
— v. mugir. 



magnificent, magnifique, superbe. 

maid, bonne. 

mail, v. mettre a la poste. 

make, faire (irr. v.). 

man, homme. 

many, beaucoup ; as many, autant ; 

how many, combien ; so many, tant ; 

too many, trop. 
masculine, masculin. 
matter, affaire, /. 
mean, v. vouloir dire. 
meaning, signification, /. 
means, moyen, m. ; by no means, pas 

du tout. 
meat, viande, /. 

meet, rencontrer ; se rencontrer. 
metal, metal ; m. pi. metaux. 
midnight, minuit, m. 
milk, lait, m. 

mind (to change one's), changer d'avis. 
mineral, mineral, m. 
mineralogy, mineralogie, /. 

minute, , /. 

misfortune, malheur, m. 

miss, manquer. 

mistake, erreur, /. ; faute, /. 

moment, -, m. 

money, argent, m. 
monk, moine, m. 



month, mois, m. 
moon, lune, /. 

more, plus ; encore un [90, 125]. 
morning, matin, m. 
mortal, mortel, mortelle. 
most, la plupart de. 
mother, mere. 
mountain, montagne, /. 
much, adv. beaucoup ; as much, au- 
tant ; so much, tant; too much, trop. 
museum, musee, m. 
music, musique, /. 
must, expressed by falloir [164]. 

N 
name, n. ; nom, m. — v. nommer. 
natural, naturel, naturelle. 
near, pres de. 
nearly, presque. 
necessary, necessaire. 
necklace, collier, m. 
neighbor, voisin, voisine. 
never, ne . . . jamais. 
news, nouvelle, /. s. 
newspaper, journal, m. 
next, prochain. 
no, non ; pas de [99], aucun. 
no more, ne . . . plus. 
nobody, personne (neg. verb). 
noise, bruit, m. 

none, I have none, je n'en ai pas. 
noon, midi, m. 
north, nord, m. 
not, ne . . . pas, ne . . . point, non 

[241] ; why not ? pourquoi pas ? 

not yet, pas encore. 
noun, nom, m. 
now, maintenant ; just now, tout a 

l'heure. 
numerous, nombreux. 



obey, obeir (a). 

oblige, obliger. 

obtain, obtenir (irr. v.). 

ocean, mer, /. ; ocean, m. 

o'clock, expressed by heure, heures. 



VOCABULARY 



339 



odd (numbers), impair. 

of, de. 

offer, offirir (irr. v.). 

officer, officier. 

often, sou vent. 

old, vieux, vieil, vieille ; age. 

on, sur. 

once, une fois ; once more, encore une 

fois ; at once, tout de suite ; a la 

fois. 
one, un, une ; the one, celui, oelle. 
only, ne . . . que [105], seulement — 

adj. seul ; only one, seul. 
open, adj. ouvert. — v. ouvrir (irr. v.) ; 

in the open air, en plein air. 
opinion, avis, to. ; opinion, /. 
opportunity, occasion, /. 
opposite, en face. 
or, ou. 

orange, , /. 

order, n. ordre, to. — v. ordonner (a). 

other, autre. 

out of, de ; (with numbers) sur ; be 

out, etre sorti ; get out, sortir (irr. 

v. etre) ; go out, sortir. 
over, sur ; plus de. 
overcoat, pardessus, to. 
over there, la-bas. 
owl, hibou (asp. h); pi. hiboux. 
own, posseder. 
owner, proprietaire. 
ox, boeuf [§45, 3]. 



page, , /. 

painter, peintre, m. 

palace, palais. to. 

pale, pale. 

paper, papier, to. ; journal, to. 

parents, , to. 

park, pare, to. 

part, n. partie, /. ; role, to. — v. se se- 

parer. 
participle, participe, to. 
pass, passer. 
passive, passif, passive. 
patience, , /. 



patient, . 

pay, payer ; pay a visit, rendre or faire 

une visite ; pay back, rendre. 
peacefully, paisiblement. 
peacock, paon, to. [§15, 9j. 
pear, poire, /. 
pearl, perle,/. 

peculiar, singulier, singuliere. 
pen, plume, /. 
pencil, crayon, to. 
people, gens [205] ; peuple, to. 
perfectly, parfaitement. 
perhaps, peut-etre. 
perish, perir. 

permission, , /. 

person, personne, /. 
physician, medecin. 

piano, , to. 

picture, tableau, to. ; image, /. 

pick up, ramasser. 

piece, morceau, to. 

pity, plaindre (irr. v.). 

place, endroit, to. 

planet, planete, /. 

plant, n. plante,/. 

, v. planter. 

plaything, joujou, to. ; pi. joujoux. 
please, plaire (a) (irr. v.) ; as you please, 

comme vous voudrez ; if you please, 

s'il vous plait. 
pleasure, plaisir, to. 
plenty, beaucoup ; assez. 
poem, poeme, to. 
poet, poete, to. 
polite, poli. 
poor, pauvre. 
postman, facteur. 
power, puissance, /. ; pouvoir, to. 
practise, etudier. 
praise, louer. 
precious, precieux. 
prefer, preferer, aimer mieux. 

present, adj. . 

, n. cadeau, to. 

president, president, 
pretty, joli. 
prevent, emp6cher. 



340 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



prey, proie, /. 

price, prix, m. 

probably, probablement. 

professor, professeur. 

profit, profiter. 

promote, promouvoir (irr. v.). 

proud, fier, fiere. 

prove, prouver. 

prudent, . 

public, , m. 

punctual, exact. 
punisb, punir. 
pupil, eleve. 
put, mettre (irr. v.). 
on, mettre. 

Q 

quarrel, se quereller. 
queen, reine. 

question, n. , /. 

, v. interroger. 

quickly, vite. 

quiet, tranquille [§ 52, 6]. 

, n. calme, m. 

quite, assez. 

R 

rain, pluie, /. 

raise, lever. 

rarely, rarement. 

ratber (with adj.), assez. 

, (with ob.) expressed by aimer 

mieux. 
read, lire (irr. v.). 
ready, pret (a). 
realize, comprendre (irr. v.). 
really, vraiment, reellement, verita- 

blement. 
reason, raison, /. 
recall, rappeler ; se rappeler. 
receive, recevoir (irr. v.). 
reception, reception, /. 
recite, reciter, 
red, rouge. 
reflect, reflechir. 
refuse, refuser (de). 
regret, regretter (de). 



reign, regner. 
relate, raconter. 
remain, rester (etre). 
remarkable, remarquable. 
remember, se souvenir de, se rappe- 
ler. 
render, rendre. 
repeat, repeter. 
represent, representer. 
republic, republique, /. 
reputation, reputation, /. 
request, v. prier. 
require, demander. 
resemble, ressembler a. 
resign, donner sa demission. 
respect, respecter. 
return (give back), rendre. 

(go back), retourner (etre). 

home, rentrer (etre). 

Ehine, Rhin, m. 
ribbon, ruban, wi- 
nch, riche. 

right (to be), avoir raison. 
ring, bag-ue, /. 
ripe, mur. 
rise, se lever. 
risk, risquer. 
river, riviere, /. 
roar, rugir. 
room, chambre, /. ; place, /. 

rose, , /. 

rule, regie, /. 
ruler, souverain. 

S 

sale (for), a vendre. 

same, meme [157]. 

say, dire (irr. v.). 

scarcely, a peine ; guere ; pas plus 

tot. 
school, ecole,/. 

science, , /. 

sea, mer, /. 
seated, assis. 

secret, , m. 

see, voir (irr. v.). 
seek, cbercher. 



VOCABULARY 



341 



seem, sembler. 

Seine, , /. 

sell, vendre. 

send, envoyer (irr. v.). 

for, faire venir. 

sentence, phrase, /. 

set (sun), se coucher. 

several, plusieurs. 

sew, coudre (irr. v.). 

shameful, honteux (asp. h). 

shine, briller (11 mouillees). 

shoe, Soulier, to. 

shore, bord, m. 

short, court. 

show, montrer. 

shut, fermer. 

sick, malade. 

side, cote, to. 

silence, , w. 

silk, soie, /. 

since, conj. depuis que (time) ; puis- 
que (cause) ; que (after il y a). 

, prep, depuis. 

sing, chanter. 

singular, singulier, singuliere. 

sir, monsieur. 

sister, sceur. 

sister-in-law, belle-sceur. 

sit down, s'asseoir (irr. v.). 

situated, situe\ 

sky, ciel, to. 

sleep, dormir (irr. v.). 

sleepy, to be, avoir sommeil. 

slowly, lentement. 

small, petit. 

snap, faire claquer. 

snow, neige, /. 

so (therefore), done. — adv. si. 

so many, ' 

so much, 

so that, de sorte que. 

society, societe, /. 

solar, solaire. 

soldier, soldat. 

some, du, de la, de 1', des. 

, quelque. 

• , quelques-uns, quelques-uncs. 



' f tant [161, 241]. 



some one, quelqu'un. 

something, quelque chose. 

sometimes, quelquefois. 

son, fils (I silent, s sounded). 

song, chant, to. 

soon, bientot ; as soon as, aussitot 

que, des que. 
sooner, plus tot. 
sorrow, chagrin, to. 

SOU, , TO. 

sound, bruit, to. 
Spain, Espagne, /. 
Spanish, espagnol. 
speak, parler. 
speech, discours, to. 
spend, passer. 
sprain, fouler. 
spring, printemps, to. 
stairs, e scalier, to. 
start, partir (etre) (irr. v.). 
station, gare, /. ; station, /. 
stay, n. sejour, to. 

, v. rester (etre). 

still, adv. encore. 
stop, arreter, s 1 arreter. 
store, magasin, to. 
story, histoire,/. 
street, rue, /. 
stretch, etendre. 
strong, fort. 
study, n. etude,/. 

, v. etudier. 

stupidity, betise, /. 

subject, sujet, to. 

succeed, reussir ; succeder [171]. 

success, succes, to. 

suffer, souffrir (irr. v.). 

sufficient, assez de. 

suggest, suggerer. 

summer, ete, to. 

sum, somme,/. 

summit, sommet, m. 

sun, soleil. 

sunrise, lever du soleil, to. 

superior, superieur, superieure. 

suppose, supposer. 

sure, sur. 



342 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



surprise, surprendre (irr. v.). 
surround, entourer. 
Swiss, suisse. 
Switzerland, Suisse, /. 
system, systeme, m. 



table, , /. 

take, prendre (irr. v.). 

take away, enlever, emporter. 

talent, , m. 

talk, parler. 

tall (persons), grand; (things), haut 

(asp. h). 
teacher, maitre, maitresse, profes- 

seur. 
tell, dire (irr. v.), raconter. 
termination, terminaison, /. 
than, que, de [123], que de (before 

inf.). 

thank, remercier. 

thank you, ) 
. , ' I merci. 
thanks, ) 

that, adj. ce, cet, cette. — conj. que. — 
dem. pron. celui, celle ; cela. — rel. 
pron. qui, que. 

theater, theatre, m. 

then, alors. 

there, la ; y ; there is, il y a ; voila. 

thief, voleur, voleuse. 

thing, chose, /. 

think, penser [178], croire (irr. v.). 

thirst, soif, /. 

through, a travers. 

thus, ainsi, de la sorte. 

tide, maree, /. 

time, temps, m. — fois, /. ; on time, a 
temps ; to have a good time, s'amu- 
ser ; to have a dull time, s'ennuyer. 

tired, fatigue. 

to, a, envers ; (with inf.) a, de, pour. 

to-day, aujourd'hui. 

together, ensemble. 

to-morrow, demain. 

too, aussi ; trop ; too many, trop. 

toward, vers, envers [101]. 

tower, tour. /. 



town, ville, /. 
toy, joujou, m. 

train, , m. 

translate, traduire (irr. v.). 

travel, voyager. 

treaty, traite, m. 

tree, arbre, m. 

trip, voyage, m. 

troop, troupe, /. 

trouble, to take, se deranger. 

true, vrai. 

truth, verite, /. 

try, essayer (de), tacher (de). 

tulip, tulipe, /. 

tune (in), juste. 

turn, tourner, se tourner. 

Turkey, Turquie, /. 

twice, deux fois. 

U 

unanswered, sans reponse. 

unaware, to be, ignorer. 

uncle, oncle. 

understand, comprendre (irr. v.). 

unfortunate, 

unhappy, 

United States, Etats-Unis, m. 

universal, universel, universelle. 

unless, a moins que. 

until [p. 138, 6], ne . . . que ; jusqu'a. 

unwilling (to be), ne pas vouloir. 

up, leve ; higher up, plus haut (h asp.). 

upstairs, en haut (h asp.). 

use [96], se servir de. 

useful, utile. 

usually, d'ordinaire. 

usurper, usurpateur, m. 



vacation, vacances, /. pi. 

valiantly, vaillamment. 

vegetable, vegetal. 

verb, verbe, m. 

very, tres ; very much, very many, 

beaucoup. 
vex, facher, vexer. 
victorious, victorieux. 



malheureux. 



VOCABULARY 



343 



visit, n. visite, /. — v. visiter, 
voice, voix, /. 
vote, voter. 
vulture, vautour, to. 

W 

wage, faire (irr. v.). 

wait, wait for, attendre [63 J. 

waiting-room, salle cTattente, /. 

wake, reveiller. 

walk, promenade, /. 

, se promener, faire une prome- 
nade. 

wall, mur, to. 

waut, vouloir (irr. v.). 

war, guerre, /. 

watch, montre, /. 

water, eau, /. 

way, chemin, to. — moyen, to. — which 
way, par oil. 

wealth, richesse, /. richesses, /. pi. 

wear, porter. 

weather, temps, to. 

wedding, manage, to. 

week, semaine, /. 

weep, pleurer. 

well, bien; eh bien; be well, aller 
bien, se porter bien ; get well, 
guerir. 

what ! quoi ! comment ! — (interr. 
pron.) que, quoi. — (rel. pron.) ce 
qui, ce que. — (adj.) quel, quelle. 

whatever, quel que ; anything what- 
ever, n'importe quoi. 

when, quand ; lorsque. 

where, ou. 

whether, si. 



which (rel. pron.), qui, que, lequel. — 

(adj.) quel. 
while, conj. pendant que. — (with 

part.), en. ; a little while, quelque 

temps. 
white, blanc, blanche. 
whole, adj. tout {precedes article). 
why, pourquoi. 

William, Guillaume (11 mouillees). 
win, gagner. 
window, fenetre, /. 
wine, vin, m. 

winter, hiver, to. (r sounded). 
wish, vouloir (irr. v.). 
with, avec ; de ; chez. 
without, sans. 

woman, femme (pron. fame). 
wonder, se demander ; s'etonner. 
wood, bois, m. 

wood, mot, to. ; parole,/. [86]. 
work, n. travail, to. ; ceuvre, /. 

, v. travailler (11 mouillees). 

worthy, digne. 
wound, blesser. 
write, ecrire (irr. v.). 
writing-paper, papier a ecrire, m. 
wrong (to be), avoir tort. 

Y 

year, an, to.; annee, /. 
yellow, jaune. 
yes, oui, si [16]. 
yesterday, hier (r sounded). 
yet, encore. 
yield, ceder. 
yonder, la-bas. 
young, jeune. 



33 



INDEX 



Numbers refer to pages 



a, prep. bet. nouns, 261. 

after dernier, premier, 264. 

with verbs of motion, 295. 
accents, 2. 

acheter, construction, 287. 
adjectives, 39. 

of nationality, 74, 94. 

comparison, 80. 

place of, 81, 277. 

fern, of, 83, 87. 

double masc. forms, 84. 

as adverbs, 149, 286. 
adverbs, place of, 51, 53, 96. 

comparison, 91. 

formation, 55, 92. 

of quantity, 109. 
age, expression of, 123. 
aller (s'en), 235. 

+ inf., 249. 

special use, 252. 
apposition, 169. 
approcher, 237. 
apres + inf., 240. 

que, 276. 
article, repetition of, 62. 

special uses, 164, 168. 

omitted, 254. 
articles, 30. 

contraction, 37. 

generic, 48. 
attendre, 63. 
aucun, 205. 



an revoir, etc., 278. 
auxiliary verb, verbs with etre, 
44. 

paradigms, 315. 
avant and devant, 54. 
avoir, 31. 

subj. and imper., 163. 

idioms, 221. 

before, 54. 
bonjour, etc., 252. 
but, meaning only, 105. 

cardinal numbers, 117, 122. 

ce, as pronoun, 67. 

ce, cet, cette, 64. 

cedilla, in conjugation, 193. 

celui-ci, etc., 135. 

chez, 133. 

collective nouns, 286. 

comme, exclamatory, 270. 

comparatives without article, 

169. 
comparison, 80, 91. 
compound nouns, 174, 261. 
conditional, present, 145. 

past, 160. 

of modal verbs, 306. 

of savoir, 309. 

with si, 310. 

special use, 311. 

with quand meme, 311. 
345 



316 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



conjugation, with etre, 44. 

first, 49. 

special rules, 192, 207. . 
conjugations, the three regular, 

318. 
conscience, 296. 
convenir -\- dative, 252. 
cote, 166. 
craindre, accord, to formation, 

192. 

dans and en, 139. 
dates, 128. 

dative pronouns, 155 ; use, 164. 
davantage, 274. 
days of week, 128. 
de, after quelque chose and rien, 
102. 

between two nouns, 261. 
deception, decevoir, 302. 
decider, 264. 
denii in compounds, 233. 
demonstrative adj.. 64. 

pron., 68. 
depuis, 197. 
devoir, 298 et seq. 
disjunctive pron., 132, 133. 
dont, 211. 
doubled consonants, 19. 

elision, 25, 147. 
en, pron., 123, 172. 

derivation, 175. 
en, prep., 139, 240. 
en retard, 120. 
en vers, 101. 
est-ce que, 77. 
etre, 34. 

subj. and imper., 163. 
euphonic t, 32. 

faillir, 287. 

faire, pres. ind., 125. 



faire, -finf., 188, 243, 244, 256. 

past part., 245. 

reflex, and impers., 247. 
falloir, 261, 300. 
flnir, pres. ind., 52. 
fractions, 127, 168. 
future, 132. 
future anterior, 136. 

gender, 32, 55, 86, 111, 214. 
generic article, 48, 61. 
gerund, 239. 

heros, 74. 

ignorer, 313. 
imperative, 5 added, 183. 
imperfect tense, 71, 95. 
imperfect for Eng. pluperf., 

198. 
indicative pres., meaning, 50. 

after certain verbs, 268. 
infinitive, with, pour, 65, 143. 

negative, 135, 286. 

with a, 209, 290, 291. 

with par, 209, 218. 

past, with apres, 240. 

after faire, laisser, entendre voir, 
247. 

with alter and venir, 249. 

after vouloir, 257. 

substituted for subjunct., 276, 
284. 

without a prep., 285. 

as subject, 285. 

after impersonal verb, 291. 
interrogation, 33, 70, 77, 113. 
interrogative adj., 99. 

pron. 215, 220. 
irregular adjectives, 87, 88. 

plural, 75 et seq. 

verbs, 320. 



INDEX 



347 



le, as pronoun, 274, 289. 
letter-writing", 130. 
liaison, 22. 

mean, 258. 

mon, ton, son, before a vowel, 56. 

months, 128. 

naitre, tenses of, 281. 

ne, after a comparative, 113. 

with subjunctive, 276. 
ne . . . que, 105. 
negation, 64, 72, 102, 105, 205, 

310. 
neuf, nonveaii, 233. 
ni . . . ni, 106. 
numerals, 117, 122, 127, 131. 

obeir, 294. 

o'clock, 119. 

of, in dates, 128. 

on, in dates, 128. 

on, indef. pron., 216. 

only, 105. 

ordinal numbers, 127. 

oil, for dans lequel, etc., 216. 

out of, 125. 

par, idiomatic, 74. 

partitive article, 60, 61, 81, 108. 

partitive noun, 60, 61, 81, 99, 

100, 106, 108. 
pas omitted, 310. 
passer, se passer, 236, 264. 
passive verb, 111, 206. 

translation with on, 216. 
past anterior, 186. 

definite, 103, 108. 

indefinite, 46, 96. 

participle, agreement, 44, 151. 

in reflex, verbs, 227, 230. 
payer, 171, 287. 



penser, 264. 
personal pron., 132. 

place of, 141, 142, 156, 159, 163, 
181, 295. 

compound, 234. 
plaire, 294. 
plupart, 121, 286. 
pluperfect, 72, 160. 
plural of nouns, 30, 75 et seq. 

of adjectives, 75 et seq. 
plus, position of, 233. 
porter, pres. ind., 49. 

according to formation, 191. 
possessive case, 40. 

adjectives, 52, 56. 

pronouns, 63. 
pour, Go. 

pouvoir, 303 et seq. 
pouvoir (se), 304. 
predicate noun, 67, 254. 
prendre a, dans, 292. 
prepositions repeated, 41. 
present indicative, meaning, 50. 

special use, 197. 

participle, 238. 
pronunciation, 25. 
propre, 302. 

quand mSme, 311. 
quantity, 21. 

adverbs of, 109. 
que ! how ! 182, 270. 
que? why? 271. 
quel, 99. 

question repeated, 287. 
qui, without antecedent, 287. 
quoi que, quoique, 275. 
quotation, 308. 

reflexive verbs, 225. 
with indirect obj., 230. 
for Eng. passive, 231. 



348 



FIRST FRENCH BOOK 



relative pron., 201. 

with prep., 210, 211. 

clause after obs. of hearing, see- 
ing, 290. 

containing subjunct., 271 et seq. 
rendre, pres. ind., 61. 

+ adj., 143. 
renoncer, 257. 
retard (en), 120. 
rien, position, 103, 233. 

sage, 278. 
savoir, 309. 

se, 227. 

s'en aller, 235. 

sequence of tenses, 280. 

servir, 269. 

si, yes, 116. 

elision, 147. 

whether, 153. 

position, 233. 

interrogative, 287, 310. 
soi, 295. 
songer, 264. 
souvenir, 250. 
stress, 21. 

stress-pronouns, 132. 
subjunctive of avoir and etre, 163. 

present, formation, 176. 

with impers. verbs, 177. 

past, 177. 

imperfect, 184. 

with inversion, 188. 

after expression of doubt, 253. 

after vouloir, 258. 

absolute, 258. 

after verbs of emotion, 266. 

preceded by we, 267, 276. 



subjunctive, resume of rules, 267. 

in relative clause, 271 et seq. 

with quelque ; with si, 272. 

with conjunctions, 275. 

for conditional, 311. 
superlative, 82. 
syllal)le-division, 20. 

t, euphonic, 32. 

tard, 120. 

teach, 292. 

tel, 224. 

telling time, 119. 

tenir, imperative, 252. 

tenses, sequence of, 280. 

in quotation, 308. 
than, after numbers, 123. 
this and that, 73. 
tout, 114. 

place of, 241. 
tout ce qui, tout ce que, 125. 
trees, names of, 55. 
tu, 31. 

unstressed pronouns, 141, 155. 

valoir niieux, 257. 
venir -J- infinitive, 249. 
verbal adjective, 239. 
vers, 101. 
voir, 140. 
volontiers, 264. 

wonder, 259. 

y, 180. 

y avoir, 38, 197, 198. 



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